Suzy of Ingleside
by Edie Star
Summary: When widower Shirley Blythe accepts a job across the country, his daughter Suzy is unhappy about leaving Vancouver for PEI. How will she cope with a summer in a strange place?
1. An Unfortunate Announcement

Susan Elizabeth Blythe sighed deeply. It was a beautiful Spring evening in Vancouver, the type where the setting sun shines brightly through dark grey clouds after a short downpour, and casts golden light on all of the trees. Her bedroom window was wide open, and the scent of the flowering lilac bush near the porch wafted up to her. Lilacs were so pleasant and _romantic_. At the age of fourteen, Suzy was setting out the first tender feelers toward the idea of romance. After all, next fall she would be going to high school, and even thought that meant her studies would become more difficult, it also meant parties and dances. Parties and dances meant boyfriends (a thought that Suzy blushed at a little, a most becoming pink flush across her pale cheeks). Dad had said that she was too young for dances, but she knew that by Christmas he would allow her to go if she kept up her grades. Shirley Blythe was a bit old-fashioned and protective of his daughter, but that was attributed to the fact that he was widowed and raising her alone. Suzy loved him dearly, and he loved her, but she didn't expect him to know about girls.

"There's not enough time to enjoy lovely things when you need to study" Suzy said to herself. "Math is so _defeating_." She was trying to finish the last of her math problems, because Dad had promised to take her for ice-cream if she had finished her homework when he came in from work. Dad was a flight school teacher, and sometimes he would take Suzy for short plane rides along the coast. How tiny all of the ships looked in the harbour! How the buildings looked like paper cutouts from such a height! She shivered. It was beautiful, but she wasn't if she could fly a plane herself. She thought that Dad was brave indeed, for controlling something that could fall out of the sky.

From the window, Suzy could see Dad walking up the front path. He was a solidly built man, with a quiet demeanor. Once the "little brown boy" of Ingleside, he was now a bear of a man, with a voice like a gentle roar.

Suzy quickly put on a cardigan, and rushed down to meet him.

"How was your day today, Scout?" Dad asked, using his special nickname for her.

Suzy grinned widely, and chattered away as they walked down the street. "Uncle Kelly said that if both Phoebe and I got at least seventy-five percent on our compositions this week, he'd take us to the cinema on Saturday." Phoebe was Suzy's cousin, and especial friend. "Of course we knew I'd be able to, but we were both sure that Phoebe wouldn't. Miss Cramston has a special _vendetta_ against Phoebe, you see. Uncle Kelly says that it's because he was once engaged to her before he met Aunt Jacque, and then Miss Cramston broke the engagement because she was in love with someone else. Then that man died in the war, and she asked for Uncle Kelly's forgiveness, and he was already married. Can you imagine? How positively tragic!"

Shirley smiled. How could he, such a quiet man, have such a chatterbox for a daughter? _She must get that from her mother_, he thought. Dear Isobel! Not a day went by when he didn't look at her picture, and feel the pain of loss again. Suzy looked like her more and more every day, with the same lily-white skin and thick black hair. She had her father's brown eyes, which Shirley was secretly greatful for. He didn't think he'd be able to see Isobel's blue eyes look at him every day.

Suzy continued to talk. "But Phoebe showed her! She wrote the most fascinating composition about diabetes, and how insulin was discovered by a Canadian. Miss Cramston didn't know what to say about it, because it truly was the best composition written by anyone in the class. She grudgingly gave her a ninety-five, but I think it should have had one hundred, because it was that brilliant." She took a deep breath. "How was your day today, dearest of Dads?"

Shirley smiled. "I have some big news for you, Scout" he said a little gruffly. "Do you remember how I told you that the flight instructor position was only temporary until I could find something better?" Suzy nodded. "Well, something better has come up. Today I met with the president of an aeroplane factory. He was impressed with my knowledge of mechanics and air safety, and offered me a position as the manager of the safety inspection department."

Suzy grinned widely. "How exciting for you!" Her own father, making sure that planes were safe to fly! She pictured him at a desk, going over diagrams and making adjustments.

"Now, Susan, there's something else..." He sounded so uncertain about the 'something else' that Suzy stopped walking. He had called her Susan, as well. This forebode something unpleasant, she was sure. Shirley had only ever called her Susan twice, the first time when she was five and he had told her that her mother had died, and the second time was now. Hearing him call her that gave her the same sinking feeling she had when she realized that Mother was gone forever.

"The factory is on the East Coast, in Halifax. The president wanted an East Coast man, and I fit the bill perfectly" Dad continued.

Suzy was stunned. "We're moving to _Halifax_?" It may as well have been Africa or the moon. That meant she wouldn't be able to start high school in the fall with Phoebe. It meant they wouldn't go for lunch in Chinatown with Uncle Kelly and Aunt Jacque every Sunday after church. No summer swimming club at English Bay with her girlfriends. No taking the streetcar downtown with Phoebe on Saturdays to go shopping at the Bay and try lipstick secretly at the cosmetics counter, or to see a show at the cinema. No skiing in the winter, because Halifax had no mountains. Worst of all, it meant leaving their home, and the apple tree in the yard. That tree had always been dear to Suzy, because it had been Mother's tree. When Isobel had been brought there as a bride sixteen springs ago, she planted an apple tree so that she would have beautiful silky pink blossoms on her wedding anniversary. The tree burst into flower at that time every year, and it made Suzy feel as though her mother was sending her a sign from Heaven. What if the next people who owned the house _cut the tree down_?

"I won't go to Halifax" Suzy said stubbornly. She hated it already.

Shirley had expected this. "You aren't going to Halifax. I'm going to have an apartment there for myself. You are going to stay on Prince Edward Island with your grandparents, in the home where I grew up. Smile for me, Scout. I'll come on weekends, and during the week, I don't think you'll miss your old Dad much. There's a whole slew of cousins around your age in Glen St. Mary, and I'm sure you'll all get on famously."

Suzy didn't want to get on famously with any small town cousins from out east. She was sure that they were too sweet and old fashioned, like the stories Dad told her about his childhood. Dad was all she had, and she loved him fiercely, but moving across the country was ridiculous!

"Promise me you'll stay for the summer" Shirley pleaded. "If you decide that you don't like it by the end of August, you can come back and stay with Uncle Kelly and Aunt Jacque and Phoebe, and start school here. Just give it a chance."

Suzy agreed grudgingly. Their talk had left a bad taste in her mouth, and she no longer wanted ice-cream.

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There were so many things to do in the last month before leaving! Dad had booked their train tickets for the twentieth of June, and they'd arrive in Charlottetown on the thirtieth. They'd stay in a hotel for a night, and then drive to Glen St.Mary for Suzy to meet the family. Grandmother sent her a letter, an airy, friendly letter, and snapshots of the family. There were so many Aunts, Uncles, and cousins! Suzy already knew Uncle Carl and Aunt Persis (who weren't related by blood, but dear family friends), because they often stopped in Vancouver when they made their yearly trip from Japan back to PEI. The rest of the faces were new, and a bit scary. Would she really be expected to remember all of their names?

Every night Phoebe was by to study for the year-end exams, and to help Suzy pack. One evening, Phoebe became over-emotional and started bawling. "I'm going to miss you terribly!" she cried, as she flung her arms about Suzy's neck. Suzy felt she should cry, too, but she couldn't.

"I'm going to be back in the fall, you goose!" Suzy said. "There, that's the trunk packed with my winter things, let your mother know that she can pick it up and store it in the attic until I come back."

School ended, and Uncle Kelly was as pleased as punch with Phoebe's grades, so he threw a year-end party. He set out the grill on the patio, and made hamburgers and frankfurters for all of Phoebe's friends. Aunt Jacque served the lightest angel food cake with strawberries and whipped cream. It looked like a picture from a magazine. Aunt Jacque could make the best cakes in the world, Suzy reflected.

That night, five girls took over the living room for a slumber party. "What are all you kids up to this summer?" asked Patsy Jones lazily, as she chewed on a rope of licorice.

"Mummy and Daddy are taking me to Montreal for a week to visit Mummy's family" Phoebe said. She was the only teenager in their circle of friends who still called her parents Mummy and Daddy. Most other girls would be laughed at, but Phoebe had sweet bird-like features, and it seemed fitting that such an adorable girl would use cute words.

"We're staying in Vancouver this summer" said Rhoda Jensen. "I'm going to join the English Bay swim club, and maybe take boating lessons. How about you, Suzy? Is your Dad going to show you how to fly a plane?"

Suzy didn't feel like talking about her plans for the summer. "We're going out east for the summer, to Prince Edward Island" was all she would say. To her great surprise, the rest of the girls were interested.

"I wonder if it will be anything like _The Moral of the Rose_ by Emily Byrd Starr," mused Rhoda.

"I don't think Suzy's family will be as crazy as the _Abernathys_," laughed Rhoda's sister, Greta.

Patsy chimed in, "Isn't Sara Stanley, the actress, from Charlottetown?"

"She's from PEI, but not from Charlottetown" Suzy replied. Feeling bold, she decided to brag a little. "I've met Sara Stanley and her family. Dad knows them from when he lived on the island." Suzy didn't mention that she'd been so in awe of the great elocutionist that she could barely speak to her on the occasions when their families had dined together.

"I've heard that her son is an absolute dream," sighed Greta. "Is it true?" Suzy blushed, and the girls broke into giggles.

_I wish I didn't have to go, and that I could have spent my summer having good times like these_, Suzy thought as she looked at the smiling faces of her girlfriends. There were two days left until she got onto the train, but she didn't want to think of that. She laughed harder than anyone else when Patsy told a bawdy joke, just so she wouldn't think about how much she would miss them all.


	2. Family Photographs

Suzy woke up on what was to be the last morning in her home, and cried a little cry. It was bittersweet to do this, sweet because she had been holding in the tears since the night of Phoebe's party, bitter because at fourteen she should be able to control herself. Lately things had been striking her with a strange sentimentality that hadn't been there before. She snuggled deeper into the pillows, and wished to go back to sleep and wake up on the first day of school, with all of this behind her.

All morning reveries must come to an end, and Suzy pulled herself out of bed. She would miss this room, the place where she dreamed of so many things, and had stayed up late with a flashlight reading so many delicious books. She remembered fancying herself a Shakespearean maiden, as she brushed her hair in front of the vanity mirror. The vanity was one thing she wouldn't miss, it had been chosen by Aunt Jacque, and Aunt Jacque's tastes had always run to gaudy Art Deco. One thing Suzy would miss was the wallpaper. It was pale yellow with tiny yellow and green flowers, and had been chosen by her mother. The colour brought back fuzzy memories of Mother, of being fed scrambled eggs for breakfast, and of cuddling against a dressing gown of the same shade. It made Suzy remember how Mother's voice could fill a room like beams of sunshine. She gently touched the wall, and had an idea. Suzy slid a penknife from her desk, and knelt down by the closet. Carefully, she scored marks in the wallpaper, and was able to peel off a square of about three inches. _Nobody will notice this_, she thought. _I shall paste it in my scrapbook with the photo of Mother. _And, although she knew she was ruining the floor, she carved in small letters: _S.E.B. 1938_. Suzy knew it was silly, but she wanted this room to remember her. A new girl would be living there tomorrow. A family named Lincoln had purchased the house, and Suzy felt they were worthy of her home. She had sighed with relief when Mrs. Lincoln announced that she liked the apple tree so well that she would place a table there next spring, and they could eat their meals out-of-doors under a cloud of pink blossoms.

Suzy dressed quickly, and placed a few last things in her traveling bag. She double-checked her cat carrier, to make sure that Phuunam was safe. Uncle Kelly had decided that Suzy needed a companion, and had given her one of his Siamese cat's kittens. Phuunam was a darling thing, with smoky blue fur, and white markings on his paws. Suzy had heard that Siamese cats were difficult creatures, but Phuunam seemed friendly and content. He certainly didn't put up a fight when she prompted him into the carrier, and was purring and lounging as he prepared for a mid-morning nap.

"Almost ready to go, Suzy?" Dad asked from the doorway. "We don't want to miss the twelve-fifteen train."

Suzy picked up her bag, and called out, "Coming!" She quickly left the room and closed the door, so that she wouldn't look back and forget her promise to Dad.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

The train ride had been long, but amazing. Suzy had been to Calgary and Winnipeg, but had never traveled across the entire country. The scenery changed as they went from province to province, and she felt that it was like a storybook of beautiful paintings. She wanted to stop everywhere, and drink it all in, but they were on a relatively tight schedule. They did stop in Toronto to visit with some old friends of Dad's, but it wasn't long enough to give Suzy the experience of being somewhere bustling and new that she craved. After dinner at the hotel in Charlottetown, Dad asked if she had enjoyed the trip.

"Oh, yes!" Suzy exclaimed. "It's too bad that it has to end." Sheepishly, she admitted that she was a bit afraid of meeting everyone the next day. "I'm afraid they won't like me, and that I'll get everyone's names jumbled up."

Dad knew better than to laugh, even though the thought of them not liking Suzy was preposterous to him. That was one of the good things about Dad, he knew when to be serious. "I wouldn't worry about them disliking you," he told her. "As for the names, get that envelope of pictures your Grandmother sent, and I'll see if I can sort things out for you." Suzy took the pictures from her bag, and they sat down to look at them.

Dad pointed at one of the women. "That's your Aunt Di. You'll know her by the red hair. She's jolly, and there isn't anyone who can't help but like her. There's her husband, Jack. He walks with a bit of a limp because a piece of shrapnel struck him in the leg during the war." Pointing at the children in that picture, he said, "Those are their children, Winifred and Franklin. They're a pair of red-headed sparkplugs, says Di. Freddie and Frankie, they call themselves, and get into plenty of scrapes."

Another picture was produced, and Dad gave her a commentary on the people in that photograph, as well. "That's your Uncle Jem and Aunt Faith. Jem's a doctor, and Faith is a nurse. People in the Glen called them Dr. and Mrs. Medicine when they first got married. A lot of the women turned their noses up at Faith having a career after getting married, they felt she was being too modern. But now there's nobody else that they'd rather have tend to their children's illnesses, or help deliver a baby. Their kids are Walter, Meredith, and Johanna."

The next picture was of Aunt Rilla's family. "Your Aunt Rilla is a funny one" Dad laughed. "We never thought she'd have children, because she disliked them when she was growing up. During the war, she found a baby on the side of the road, and took him back to Ingleside. I guess that giving him up when his father came back struck some sort of maternal chord, because Rilla and Kenneth now have four of their own, and another on the way! They've got the twins of this generation, Trudy and Olivia, and two sons, Gilbert and Dewey."

Dad showed her the next photo. "Here's your Aunt Nan and Uncle Jerry. Nan and Di are twins, but you'd never guess it." Suzy agreed. Aunt Nan had dark hair, and a smile on her face that clearly showed how pleased she was with herself, although it wasn't a conceited smile. Dad continued. "Both of them stand perfectly straight because of how proud they are, Nan because she knows how pretty she is, and Jerry because he's the best minister in PEI. Uncle Carl once said that neither of them would ever bend, if they did they'd snap." Suzy smirked. Uncle Carl was right, they looked as stiff as pencils. "They've got one daughter, Cecilia, and I think she's about your age, but if she's anything like Nan, she acts older."

Suzy was still overwhelmed by all of these people. She longed for Vancouver, and her small family there. It was a Thursday, so Aunt Jacque must have returned her library books and done some shopping. Uncle Kelly would still be at the office, and Phoebe would be sunbathing at the beach with Rhoda and Greta. If she could be back in Vancouver, Suzy would have been with them, wearing her new red polka-dotted bathing suit. Thinking of the bathing suits she and Phoebe had chosen together made her homesick. She was still bitter about coming to PEI, but she hoped that the cousins were as nice as they looked in the photos. Of course she couldn't love any of them as much as she loved Phoebe, but she wanted to have a few good times to partially make up for the ones she'd be missing in Vancouver. She wouldn't enjoy herself too much, though, in case she didn't want to leave in August. _I will have good times, but I shan't get attached to anyone, _Suzy decided. With that resolution, Suzy readied herself for bed and vowed to sleep well to prepare herself for the meeting tomorrow.


	3. An Introduction to Ingleside

A shiny cherry red sedan was waiting for the Blythes when they left the hotel. "What a gorgeous auto!" Suzy breathed. "Which one of the uncles does this belong to?"

Dad laughed a big hearty laugh. "It's ours, Scout. I bought it so that I could drive to the Glen to see you every weekend. Jump in!"

He gallantly opened the door for Suzy, and she slid into the backseat. The black leather seats were a bit too warm from the sunshine, but she didn't notice. This cherry red vehicle was theirs! In Vancouver they had only had an old Ford that was used for Dad to drive to work.

Dad introduced her to the young man driving the car. "Suzy, this is Bruce Meredith. He helped me buy this car."

Bruce turned and winked at her. He was handsome, with winsome blue eyes and a rakish grin. Suzy felt her heart jump a beat. "This car belonged to my Aunt Ellen. I told her she was crazy for buying it last year, but she wouldn't listen. She bought it anyway, drove it once, and decided that an automobile just wasn't for her. Of course not, she's nearly seventy and set in her ways. So she told me to sell it, and when I heard your Dad was coming back, I cut him a deal." Bruce was smooth, Suzy decided. She couldn't tell if she liked that or not. She did like his eyes, though, and his strong set jaw. She felt that maybe she could like him better if he were younger. He seemed to be at least twenty-five, but Suzy was bad with determining ages. _Dad would never let me date someone who was twenty-five, _Suzy thought ruefully. Then she thought, _Why am I thinking of dating Bruce Meredith?_ and blushed. She couldn't speak for the rest of the drive to the Glen, but that was all right. Bruce just assumed that she was quiet like her father, and more than made up for the silence by chatting about his job as a photographer. He had them howling with laughter when he related a story about a young mother who had dressed her baby up as Santa Claus for a Christmas portrait, and every time Bruce tried to snap the picture, the baby would have the beard in his mouth. "Finally I had to tell the woman that she had better watch out, or her baby would get a hairball."

By the time they drove close to Ingleside, Suzy was feeling more at ease. She hoped that everyone in the Glen would be as friendly as Bruce. He pulled the car close to the Ingleside garage, and Suzy looked toward the rambly yellow house. It looked like a friendly house, she decided. On the front verandah, stood a girl with wavy brown hair tied back from her face. Suzy liked the looks of her, and admired her outfit. She was wearing a white and red striped blouse with cap sleeves, a red skirt, and red and white saddle shoes. She looked like a peppermint drop. The girl ran into the house, and Suzy could hear her call out excitedly, "They're here!" before the door slammed shut.

"We're going to go in through the kitchen," explained Dad. "Your Grandmother will meet us in there, and take Phuunam upstairs before you go in to meet the clan."

Grandmother met them in the kitchen with twinkling grey eyes. They reminded Suzy of the ocean in winter. She looked like a grandmother should, with features softened by age and fond memories, and snow- white hair. "I'm so pleased to have you here, darling" Grandmother said, as she embraced Suzy. Suzy didn't normally like to be hugged by people she didn't know, but Grandmother was different. She was "of the race of Joseph" as Dad said. Suzy supposed that made a big difference.

"I see you brought a cat" Grandmother peeked into the cat carrier. "And a lovely one, too. Cats always make a home so _homey_. We haven't had a cat here in such a long time. I was just telling your grandfather that it was absolutely _indecent_ how we had no cats prowling about. Would you mind if we made your little puss the honourary Ingleside cat while you're here?"

Suzy didn't want to make any attachments to Ingleside, but Phuunam purred so cunningly at Grandmother that she had to say yes. Grandmother led them upstairs, to a small room at the end of the hallway. "This was your Aunt Rilla's room when she was a girl. It hasn't been used much since, so if anything seems uncomfortable, tell me. I'd like for you to be happy here, Suzy." Suzy automatically amended her resolution. She would have good times, and wouldn't become attached to anyone _except Grandmother. _She really was too kind to not love.

"Are you ready to go downstairs?" Grandmother asked after Suzy opened the door of the cat carrier. Suzy nodded. They left the room, with Phuunam following. Suzy bent to scoop him up and put him back in her room, but Grandmother said, "If he wants to roam and visit with the family, he's welcome to."

Grandmother entered the parlour with Suzy and squeezed her hand encouragingly. She seemed to know intuitively how nervous Suzy was. In seconds, she was engulfed by her cousins. As the oldest, Walt Blythe made it his duty to introduce himself first. He was a broad shouldered, studious boy with big hands that nearly crushed Suzy's fingers when he shook her hand. Gilly Ford was not much younger than Walt, but he was much less serious. When Gilly shook her hand, he tickled her palm with one of his fingers, and winked. He seemed like he could be a chum.

"We've got fireworks for Dominion Day, and it's our friend's birthday. You should come to the party," Gilly told her.

Freddie and Frankie Wright elbowed their way to her next. Frankie was her age, and Freddie was twelve, but they looked like twins. As a child, Suzy had owned a book about Raggedy Ann and Andy. With their bright red hair and round earnest faces, Freddie and Frankie reminded her of that pair. Later, Suzy would find out that Freddie had tried to wear red lipstick for the occasion, and had been chastised by her mother ("She never wants me to have any fun" Freddie pouted), and that Frankie had brought a whoopee cushion to use on her to see if she could take a joke. That never happened though, because he had used it earlier that day at lunch to get back at Walt for calling him leopard face. Frankie had decided that lest the joke become stale, he had best not use it again right away.

Freddie flashed Suzy a puckish grin. "We'll have a lot of fun together, you'll see!" Aunt Di overheard her and called out, "I know what your idea of fun is, and if you expose Suzy to it, I'll have your hide!" Suzy caught Aunt Di's eye as she yelled this, and Aunt Di winked at her. Dad was right, you _just had_ to like Aunt Di, even when she threatened punishments she was jolly.

The girl from the porch was Cecilia Meredith, and she smiled widely. Suzy grinned back. They didn't get a chance to chat, because Meredith Blythe came next, with little Johanna in tow. Meredith was sixteen, and wore her hair in becoming pincurls that frothed around her round apple-red cheeks. "You can call me Merry," she said breathlessly, and smiled, making a sweet little dimple appear in her chin. The name suited her to a T. Eight year old Dewey Ford tried to imitate the effortless handshake of the older boys, but failed because his hand was so much smaller than Suzy's, and he wasn't used to shaking hands anyway. Finally, Trudy and Olivia introduced themselves.

It was easy to see that they were twins, but they were so different. Olivia was quiet, but looked ready for a lark. She was Freddie's dearest friend when the Wrights came to visit from Avonlea. She wore her wavy taffy-coloured hair the same way Cecilia did, tied back loosely with a ribbon that matched her outfit. She was pretty, but easily outshone by Trudy. Trudy had her hair done in a permanent wave, to look perpetually finger-waved. A permanent wave! Dad wouldn't let her get one, and was at least four months older than Trudy. With her sultry eyes, she looked like a young Jean Harlow. She sized up Suzy's outfit, and Suzy knew that she found it lacking in style. _Why_ had she worn the green dress instead of the blue? The green was more comfortable for traveling, but the blue was a much more flattering shape. Suzy felt herself wilting under Trudy's scrutiny. Fortunately, she was distracted by a howl from Phuunam. "Please don't pull on his fur," she desperately told Johanna and Dewey. "He doesn't like that. Pet him gently, please."

Trudy gave her a glare. "Don't you dare tell my brother what to do, _Susan,_" she said in the iciest tone Suzy had ever heard. Suzy shrunk a little. _It won't be too hard to keep my resolution, now,_ she thought. Suddenly the friendly house in her mind crumbled, and she couldn't wait to go back to Vancouver.


	4. A Vision in Rainbow Valley

Suzy threw herself onto the bed in the little room at the end of the hallway, and was relieved to spend some time blessedly alone before Cecilia came back from the manse to help her dress for the party that night. She punched the pillow, still angry about how mean-spirited Trudy had been. Her pride hurt a little, because nobody had ever treated Suzy like that before. She groaned, thinking that the Glen and Four Winds wasn't a big enough distance between her and Trudy. Suzy felt homesick, and wished that Phoebe were with her. Phoebe would have been able to make friends with Trudy, or at least tame her, Suzy was certain of that.

There was a light knock on the door. "May I come in?" Grandmother asked softly. Suzy answered yes, and the door opened. Grandmother came and sat on the bed, and they were silent for a little while. It was a companionable silence though, and when the time was right, Grandmother broke it by asking if Suzy was homesick. One tear rolled down Suzy's cheek.

"Oh, darling" Grandmother soothed her by stroking the hair from her brow. "I know two months seems like forever, but in no time you'll be back with Phoebe. Why don't you tell me a little about Vancouver? Did you know that I've only been there twice? Your Grandfather and I went once when your parents were married, and again when you were born."

Suzy told Grandmother about spending time at the seaside, the trolley cars downtown, and even the apple tree in the yard of their old house. Grandmother understood. "It seems like trees have a secret life of their own" the older woman sighed. "As though the rustle of leaves is a whisper to the dryads of the forest. Apple trees are like the blushing brides of the wood."

Suzy felt lighter after talking to Grandmother. _She's a kindred spirit_, Suzy realized, and most importantly she _listened_. She didn't rebuke her, or call her babyish for being homesick. When Cecilia was due to come 'round, Suzy bounded down the stairs to wait at the end of the path for her. They ended up meeting in the middle, and Cecilia linked arms with her. The two girls ended up walking past the garage, where Bruce was showing Shirley the internal workings of the car.

"Hey, Uncle Bruce!" called out Cecilia.

"How's tricks, Cee?" Bruce said in reply.

"Are you going to come to the party in Rainbow Valley tonight?" Cecilia asked him. "Walt's bringing down the victrola, and he has some new records, but there aren't going to be nearly enough boys to dance with."

Bruce laughed and showed his perfect white teeth. Suzy had a queer fluttery feeling in her chest when he did that. "I'm a little old for your shindig, and besides that, I think there are a lot of boys who would like to dance with you, Cee."

Cecilia nodded in agreement. "But I wouldn't like to dance with many of them. There's that horrid Willie Kirk Drew. His father only named him that so when they go into town, he can say 'He's William, and I'm Shakespeare' and then guffaw like a horse. Neither of them would know sonnets or poetry if they were hit with a book of it. Did you know that Willie once told me that I had glowing skin like a _sepulcher_? I think he may have meant 'seraphim,' because he said it like it was a compliment, but _still_…"

"You're a minister's daughter, dear girl," said Bruce. "You shouldn't even be dancing at all."

"Dad says that's an old-fashioned idea," Cecilia said staunchly. "The Bible tells us to dance and rejoice. Of course, the old biddies in Avonlea would never accept that, so I'm not allowed to dance there. But I can dance here all I like, because gossip never travels from the Glen to Avonlea, and if anyone in Avonlea heard it, they wouldn't believe it anyway. They'd just say that the Glen was jealous that Avonlea's preacher's daughter is so beautiful."

"You've got spunk, kid," was all that Bruce could say. "Sure, I'll come down to the party." Suzy decided that spunky was the right word for Cecilia. She also decided that she wanted Bruce to ask her to dance at the party.

Upstairs, Cecilia helped Suzy choose an outfit. "It's just casual, like all of our parties in Rainbow Valley," she explained. "We like to have parties there, because it's so nice to dance under the stars, and eat outdoors. Mum is making pies for tonight. What's your favourite type of pie? She wants to know so she can send one over to Ingleside tomorrow."

Jem and Faith's family was living at Ingleside until their house at the Harbour was built, so Merry came in to Suzy's room help the girls dress their hair. She looked at her self in the mirror and moaned, "Don't let your mother send another pie, Cee. I'm getting positively _fat_!"

Cecilia inspected her cousin. "I don't think you're fat, you're delightfully curvy."

"You look like Deanna Durbin in Mad about Music, Merry" Suzy said loyally. She had seen that movie three times with Phoebe, and had loved it each time.

Cecilia agreed. "Deanna Durbin looked fabulous in that movie. I wish I'd fill out soon."

"No, you don't" Merry cautioned her. "None of your nice clothes will fit. Mother nearly had a fit this spring when we needed to replace my wardrobe. If either of you want a nice velvet coat and a few dresses that I never wore, you're welcome to them."

When the sun started to set, the girls headed down to Rainbow Valley. Suzy could see why they liked it so, and remembered what Grandmother had said about the secrets of trees. The hollow seemed filled with spirits of all types that wound among the tree trunks, mischievous spirits that would tug your hair and wink at you. Someone had strung candlelit lanterns in the trees, and a tinny jazz tune rolled out of Walt's victrola. It was magical. Olivia and another girl were arranging food on a picnic table that Gilly had built from rough-hewn wood. Cecilia grabbed Suzy by the arm and took her around to meet the others.

"Sadie, this is my cousin, Suzy Blythe. This is her first night here in the Glen" Cecilia introduced her to a girl with blonde hair, and queer blue eyes that appeared to be almost white. "Suzy, this is Sadie Vance Douglas. It's her birthday tonight, and she's going to be sweet sixteen."

"Or not so sweet" Sadie chuckled. "Suzy, I want to apologize if I say anything that offends you. Mum says I cuss like a sailor sometimes. I think I know why sailors do it, the words are just so damned pleasant sounding!" Suzy was shocked by Sadie, but was refreshed by her openness. If Suzy had been a native of the Glen, she would have known that Sadie was her mother all over again, right down to the very voice of the irrepressible Mary Vance.

The girl with Olivia was Sadie's sister, Nell. Horsing around with Gilly were two older boys, Sadie and Nell's brothers, Arthur and Elliot. Cecilia pointed out several other people, including the detestable Willie Kirk Drew. Suzy stifled a giggle. One felt they had to laugh at his bilious yellow bowtie and hair that stood up in cowlicks, but mustn't because that would injure his fragile ego. He seemed nice enough, if a bit socially inept. Suzy had that quandary, and knew that she could never dance with him because she would laugh in his face.

The feast of sandwiches and pies provided by Aunt Nan and Aunt Rilla was eaten with great relish. Suzy sat on a moss covered rock, and was enjoying the night in spite of herself. She hung back a little, because she didn't want her the fact that she was the "new girl" to draw attention away from Sadie on her birthday. When the pies were finished ("Aunt Nan makes a pie that is a _pie_" Suzy thought, satisfied), Walt put on a Bing Crosby record, and everyone started dancing. Gilly noticed that she was by herself, and let Walt break in on him and Sadie.

"Why such a wallflower?" Gilly asked, as he spun her around. "You dance better than most of the other girls here."

Suzy smiled as thanks for the compliment. "I don't know anyone, and nobody asked me to dance except you."

"We'll change that," said Gilly. He danced her over to the victrola and said to Arthur, "Wind it up again, and then take Suzy here for a spin. She can dance like Ginger Rogers!"

Arthur obligingly danced with the pretty young girl for two dances, and then asked Elliot to take her. Elliot danced with her until his girl returned from the powder room up at Ingleside. From there she was passed on to Walt, and then back to Gilly again. The height of the evening though, was when Bruce cut in on Gilly. "Can I have this dance with Suzy?" he asked, and Suzy's breath caught in her throat.

"I was wondering if you could show me that dance step that you and Elliot were doing" Bruce asked. "I'm a bit of a clod, and I only know how to waltz." Suzy nodded. He had seen her do that new dance with Elliot, and had liked it! That meant that he had been watching her! Suddenly, she was so overcome by nerves that she was unsure if she'd be able to operate her legs properly to show him. However, she composed herself, and she and Bruce danced three times before he had the step committed to memory. Three times! That was nearly ten delightful minutes close enough to Bruce to smell his deliciously spicy sandalwood cologne, with her hand in his, dancing under a canopy of stars. Suzy was relieved when Gilly called out that he would be lighting the fireworks soon. Her heart was racing, and she wasn't sure if she could spend another minute so close to such a handsome man. She excused herself, and ran off to find somewhere to be alone with these newly discovered feelings.

There was a little mound near the creek, hidden by a wild rose bush, and Suzy decided to sit there. She hugged her knees to her chest, and was lost in a dream of being Mrs. Bruce Meredith one day. He was only ten or twelve years older than her, she rationalized. When she was twenty-two, he would be thirty-five at the oldest, and that wasn't a big difference if they were in love. Suzy was sure that she could make Bruce love her. After all, they danced well together and she had once read that dance was an expression of the soul. Maybe their souls were meant to be together. A firework popped in the sky, and brought Suzy down to earth. In the distance, on a small hill, she saw a pale dark-haired woman in a white dress staring at the sky. It was like seeing a ghost. "Mother!" Suzy gasped. It couldn't be real! She rubbed her eyes to try and affirm what she had seen, but the woman had disappeared over the crest of the hill and into the night.


	5. Follies at the Harbour

When Shirley Blythe moved to Vancouver in the autumn of 1922, he didn't know anyone, and that was the way he liked it. He stayed at a boarding house when he first arrived, but the constant noise of the other men drove him to search out a suite in an apartment block. He liked the one room suite well enough, but sometimes wished that he'd stayed on PEI to be a bachelor; perhaps he could have had his own farm, and Di would have kept house for him. However, PEI held nothing for him any more, and it was just as well that he had left.

He started a job at a newspaper as a junior copy editor. Shirley had never thought of a career in journalism, but with his education, he was qualified for it. He actually quite enjoyed the silent, precise work of checking for spelling mistakes and grammatical errors. He shared his cubby with a young man named Kelly Atherton. Kelly had flown in the war as well, and the two became fast friends. Soon, Shirley was a frequent guest in the Atherton home, enjoying meals cooked by Kelly's pretty wife, Jacque.

"Did you know that I met her in Paris?" Kelly said to Shirley. "I was on leave, in a café. I overheard her speaking in French, so I decided to try out my French on her. She let me stumble through nearly three sentences of complete drivel before saying, sweetly, 'I can speak English, I'm from Montreal.'"

The three spent evenings reading aloud to each other, and playing card games. On one particular Friday night in early December, Shirley had stopped by so that Jacque could measure him, because she wanted to knit him a sweater for Christmas. "You will come over on Christmas, won't you?" she asked.

Shirley stayed quite late that night, helping Jacque choose a colour of wool for the sweater. Normally, on Friday nights, he was at one of the dime-a-dance parlours, trying to meet women. He wasn't too interested in any of the ones he did meet. Shirley kept trying, not because he wanted to, but because he felt he should. Many people had thought that Shirley would be a confirmed bachelor, but he felt otherwise. Sometimes he thought of how nice it would be to have a life like Kelly's, with a dear little wife to come home to. This was the thought that engrossed him as he walked away from the Atherton's house. In fact, he was so lost in thought that he didn't notice the girl in front of him, and he bumped into her, nearly knocking her over.

Shirley gasped. "I am so, so sorry!" He scrambled to help the woman pick up her books. "My name is Shirley Blythe," he said by way of introduction, once the woman had all of the books back in her arms. "Can I walk you home?"

She smiled at him with twinkling dark blue eyes. Shirley had only ever seen eyes like that once before, and they were mesmerizing. "That won't be necessary, we're right in front of it." Shirley looked at her, and then looked back to the house. "I'm Isobel Atherton."

Shirley couldn't believe that they hadn't met yet. Isobel told him that she was a university student, and stayed with Kelly and Jacque on weekends. "Dormitory life can get so monotonous" she explained.

The pair stood out in the damp night, and talked about many things: Shirley's job ("Repetitive, but enjoyable, none the less."), Isobel's art degree ("I don't know what I can do with it, except teach high school art classes. I've always loved art history, though."), and even gossiped a little about Kelly and Jacque ("Kelly wants to start a family, but I think Jacque is afraid of losing her figure."). Somehow, Shirley didn't feel so quiet any more. Boldly, he asked Isobel if she'd like to see a picture with him at the cinema the following afternoon.

"I don't know" Isobel said coyly. "I'm not in the habit of going to darkened cinemas with strangers."

Shirley was flustered. "You have my word as a gentleman that I won't try any funny business. Besides, you and I both know that Kelly could pound me into the ground in a fight."

Isobel laughed, and accepted his invitation. Soon, she and Shirley were inseparable, having dinner at the Atherton's during the week, going to art galleries and for walks in the park on Saturdays. By mid-December, Shirley knew what he wanted to give Isobel as a Christmas gift. He went to a jeweler, and purchased a sparkling sapphire ring, that perfectly matched the shade of Isobel's eyes. They were married the following spring, and Shirley was the happiest man in the world.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Whenever she looked at the picture of her mother, Suzy thought of the story of how her parents met. She was staring at the picture and feeling particularly wistful today, because of the woman she had seen the night before in Rainbow Valley. Who was she? Suzy sighed. She'd have to ask one of the aunts, but she didn't have any time to do that this morning. Freddie had slipped a note under her bedroom door asking if she wanted to go walk down to the harbour. Olivia, Cecilia, and Nell were going to go, too. Suzy was surprised that Freddie was such an early riser, she expected someone so rebellious would have slept late and lounged around all day. She was wrong, though. Freddie had so much energy, that sleep was merely just a short period in which to gain more.

The five girls cut across lots and rushed to the shore. Olivia wanted to sit and push her skirt up so that she could tan her legs, but Freddie insisted on going further. "There's a nice little cove where we can go and nobody will bother us."

They found the cove promised by Freddie, and Cecilia looked out at the calm, sparkling water. "I wish I'd worn my bathing suit," she moaned. "The water is perfect for swimming today."

Freddie's eyes flashed with an idea. "Let's go skinny dipping!" she suggested.

Cecilia was shocked. "If you think I'm going to do that, you've lost your mind, Freddie Wright!"

"Aww, Cee!" Freddie exclaimed. "You're just embarrassed because you probably look like a boy when you're naked. Nothing to be ashamed of, I'm as flat as a board, too."

Cecilia turned as red as a tomato. "I'm not going to."

Nell rolled her eyes at Cecilia. "I'll swim with you, Freddie. _I'm_ not embarrassed."

Olivia decided to join them as well, and the three girls abandoned their clothes on the beach. Suzy looked out at the water. It did look awfully refreshing, and in such a secluded area, nobody could possibly see them. She could stay with Cecilia, but Freddie was right, a swim would be just the thing on such a warm day. Soon, she too was splashing around in the ocean. She was floating on her back, completely relaxed, when Cecilia called out: "Hide! I can see Mrs. Douglas coming down the shoreline!" The girls tried to keep their bodies hidden below the waterline, as Cecilia gathered up their clothes. In desperation, she threw them behind a large rock. However, Mrs. Douglas was close enough to see her do this.

"Cecilia _Meredith_!" she called out. "Whatever are you doing?" Though she wasn't a very large woman, Mrs. Douglas was quite threatening, with piercing pale eyes that had a strange way of almost looking right through you. She was carrying a crab trap, and didn't look as though she was above chasing someone down with it if they crossed her.

Cecilia crossed her fingers and hoped that she wouldn't be caught in a fib. "Nothing, just sitting on the shore." She tried to sound as casual as possible. After all, she hadn't been swimming with the other girls; she had just been sitting on a rock warmed by the sun.

"Then what in the Devil's name is _that_?" Mrs. Douglas practically yelled, pointing at the ground. A lone pair of underpants had fallen from the jumble of clothes, and made a rather incongruous white spot on the sand.

Cecilia was tongue-tied. She looked from the water, to Mrs. Douglas, to the water again. "They're my underpants" Freddie piped up from the water. Suzy was mortified. Now everyone would know they had been swimming naked. It was a well-known fact around the Glen that Mrs. Douglas dearly loved a good piece of gossip. However, they had one thing working against this variable: Nell. Mrs. Douglas would never let a story like this get out about one of her offspring.

"All of you heathens, out of the water! Now!" howled Mrs. Douglas. "At least I got here before someone else could see you! There's a pier this way that not many people go to, and I was hoping to catch some crabs for dinner. The ones in the market weren't fresh enough for my liking. I'm going to take you all home. I don't know what I'll do for dinner now, but I'm not going to let you all get away with this!"

The girls dressed somberly. Suzy's skin was still a bit damp, and her dress clung to her back. She was uncomfortable, but became even more squeamish when Mrs. Douglas marched them all down the beach and into her car. She started in on Nell first.

"I thought I raised you better than that, Cornelia" Mrs. Douglas lamented. "I thought I raised you right so's that people couldn't say, 'There's that no-good daughter of Mary Vance's. Like mother, like daughter.' You're not allowed to leave the house for a full week, and I'm going to set you to work. I want the attic cleaned from top to bottom."

"You're the Jack himself in a dress," Nell said contemptuously. Suzy was surprised that anyone would say that to their mother, but Mrs. Douglas laughed a small rueful laugh.

"You've got spirit, Nellie-girl," she said, "but spirit won't get you anywhere unless you have manners to keep it in check."

"I don't want to say much to you others, because it's not my job to punish you" Mrs. Douglas told the rest of them. "But I will say a few things. You," she motioned toward Freddie, "are an absolute hellion. I never thought I'd ever say that about any child of Di Blythe's, but you need to shape up or go to a finishing school if you ever want to even think about being a lady."

To Cecilia she stressed the importance of good behaviour as a minister's daughter. Cecilia had heard it all before, and was able to ignore Mrs. Douglas almost entirely. Olivia heard a polemic on how her mother was too soft, hadn't raised them with any discipline, and had neglected her children to play house with her husband. Then Mrs. Douglas said to Suzy, "I can understand you not having any morals, seeing as you were raised without a mother. Your father's a good man, but ain't no match for a woman's hand with children. I had no mother myself, but got turned around when I went to live with Cornelia Elliot, rest her soul. Maybe the Ingleside women can train you, but judging from their girls, I don't rightly know if they can. Those ladies did nothing to deserve daughters like these." Suzy was enraged. No morals! Of course she had morals, even though she had no mother. Father had raised her to know the difference between right and wrong. If anything, he'd tried doubly hard to fine-tune her moral compass so that no one could say he didn't raise her properly. Finally, they arrived at Ingleside, and Mrs. Douglas's inquisition was over. Suzy vowed that she would never again speak to such a mean-spirited woman as Mrs. Miller Douglas.


	6. The Woman in the Wood

Freddie was punished after church on Sunday. Aunt Di didn't have the heart to be too harsh with her daughter, but she wanted to make the punishment suit the crime. "There are plenty of children without nice clothes, let alone nice clothes to strip off and throw onto the beach," Aunt Di rebuked her. "You're going to knit a sweater to put into the charity box at the church." Aunt Nan and Aunt Rilla thought this was an appropriate punishment, and inflicted it on their daughters as well. Dad pulled Suzy aside, and said that since she liked to knit, he didn't think knitting a sweater would truly teach her a lesson, but she should do it as well to appease the aunts and learn the value of helping those less fortunate. Her punishment was going to be the loss of pocket money for the week. This was a small matter to Suzy. She felt that the true punishment was Dad's absence until the following weekend.

"Don't look at me that way, Scout," he pleaded when she pouted at him. "I'm going to be back again on Friday. If you need anything before Wednesday, you can ask your Aunt Di. After then, I'll have my 'phone hooked up, and you can call me whenever you like. How does that sound?"

Suzy grudgingly agreed that it sounded nice, and walked with him out to the garage. She hugged him before he started the engine, and drove away. Suzy stood there, and waved until the car was out of sight. Feeling disappointed, she decided to go to the kitchen, and see if any cookies had been baked recently. Her favourite place at Ingleside was the kitchen; it was always filled with good smells, and even better conversation. Aunt Di was at the table, preparing a roast for the Sunday night dinner. Suzy remembered that she had wanted to ask someone about the woman she had seen in Rainbow Valley, and decided that Aunt Di would probably know about her. Most importantly, Aunt Di would tell her the truth. Diana was a woman who believed that children did not need to implicitly trust adults, that an adult needed to earn a child's trust, and the best way to do this was by being entirely truthful. So when Suzy asked her about the strange dark-haired lady, Di said, "Una Meredith? That's a sad story. Help me slice some potatoes, and I'll tell you a bit about her."

"Over twenty years ago, during the Great War, Una Meredith was in love with my brother, Walter. Walter wrote beautiful poetry, and many girls fancied themselves in love with Walter the Poet. Una was the only woman who also loved him as Walter the Person. I always had been close to Walter, and I don't think he ever realized that Una had those feelings for him. If he did realize it, it must have been too late. Walter was in love with Faith and it blinded him, but he loved her as an ideal, a blonde sylph or goddess that he could place on a pedestal. He never was too good dealing with reality. Countless times, I had to pull him back down to earth. Just as often, though, he made me soar among the stars. What a pair we were! With him so dreamy and me so practical. He once said that he couldn't bear the slightest touch of ugliness, and when he died, we all felt that a little beauty had been sucked from our lives. Even someone as beautiful as Walter couldn't triumph over the ugliness of war. Una especially felt this, and spent many months depressed and withdrawn."

"When your Dad came back from the War, he was changed. We all were, but there was a marked difference in Shirley." Diana grimaced, remembering Shirley's dull eyes when he came home, and the depression that permeated the soul of her formerly contented younger brother. "Our father, your Grandfather Gilbert, decided that a distraction was the best cure for what ailed Shirley. He was sent to Redmond, and he and Una were a great comfort to each other while he was there. We started to get our old Shirley back. Some time in the spring of 1922, I think it was, Shirley asked Una to marry him. He had deliberated over it, in that way he is wont to do, and had come to me for advice several times. At the time, I wasn't sure what went wrong. We were all positive that Una would accept his proposal. Shirley skulked around Ingleside for months. Finally, it was your Aunt Rilla who found out why Una had said no.

'Why can't you marry our Shirley?' Rilla had asked.

Una was still in love with Walter, and couldn't get him out of her mind, or her heart. Shirley accepted that and moved on. It took him a long time; a broken heart is more difficult to mend than a broken bone. You'll find this out when you start having love affairs of your own," Aunt Di said sagely. Suzy reddened a little, and couldn't look Aunt Di in the eye. Could Aunt Di tell that she was thinking of her blossoming attraction to Bruce Meredith? Apparently her aunt couldn't, because she continued her story.

"The last nail in the coffin for him, though, was when he heard that Una was already engaged to another man. He was a seminary student, and the spitting image of Walter. Shirley couldn't take it any more. Nan and Faith and I spent many hours trying to convince him to stay, but he had already made up his decision to leave."

Suzy's eyes grew wide. Solid and dependable Dad, of all people, having a tragic love affair! "What happened to Una?" she gasped.

"Una didn't end up marrying the seminary student. There was a scandal---she wasn't involved---but it was something so terrible that he was expelled from the school, and Una would have nothing to do with him. She was crushed. He had been like Walter in looks only. You can never judge a book by its cover" Aunt Di had been a schoolteacher once, and it still sometimes showed in her speech to youth. "Nan urged Una to rethink Shirley's offer. She'd always been closer to him than I was, and her words carried real weight in that respect. Your Dad has never been one to hold a grudge, and we thought that he might come home, and he and Una could be happy with one another. We should have known better. Mark my words, Suzy, even if you think you're doing it for the greater good, never _ever_ get involved in the love affairs of others." Then, noticing the somber look on the girl's face, Di winked and added, "You'll have more than enough trouble with your own!"

"Faith helped Una write him a letter. She pinned all of her hopes on it, and took it down to the post office. The next day, a letter from Shirley arrived at Ingleside. It was an engagement announcement! We simply _had_ to get Una's letter back! As Providence would have it, the Glen St. Mary post office was, and still is, run by Mary and Miller Douglas. 'We _will_ get that letter back' Mary said determinedly. 'Una was the first person to rightly be nice to me, and I'm not going to let anything hurt her.'" Suzy was surprised that the acerbic Mrs. Douglas had a sensitive side. It still didn't change her mind about avoiding her, though.

Di skillfully arranged the potatoes in the roasting pan. "Mary told us that once the mail left the Glen, any articles leaving PEI went to a central office in Charlottetown before being sent out. Can you believe that she yelled at Miller to get on the next train to Charlottetown, and to find the letter and destroy it?" Suzy could believe it. In fact, she could believe any story that had Mrs. Douglas yelling. "So, Una's pride was saved, and your Dad married your Mother. He always did have a thing for the ethereal type, but a lot of the 'ethereal features' he was attracted to were signs of consumption: pale ghostly skin, shining eyes, overly flushed cheeks." Di sighed. "It was a shame that your Mother died in that sanatorium. Did you know that when you were about seven, your Dad thought about moving back to the Island? He had a notion to ask Una to marry him again, I think, so that you'd have a Mother to raise you. Nothing ever came of it. By that time, Una was in Peru doing missionary work. The church sent her back about three years ago, after she had a particularly bad bout of influenza. Now she helps to keep house at the manse during the winter, and at Persis and Carl's when they're here in the summer." Pleased with her work, Di placed the lid on the roasting pan and took it to the oven. "Now that's done, you can go wash your hands and go outside, pet. Thanks for your help."

Suzy sat in the swinging chair on the back verandah, her head and heart swimming with what Aunt Di had told her. It was like one of the dime novels that Phoebe bought every other week at the drugstore! Well, at least the beginning was. Suzy frowned. The end of Shirley and Una's story was nothing like a dime novel; nobody kissed passionately, and if that didn't happen in the last chapter, someone usually died. That hadn't happened either. But wouldn't it be wonderful if the passionate kiss _could_ happen?


	7. Fights and Feuds

"I've finally had enough!" Walt said. "Frankie, we're going to settle this, once and for all." He rolled up his sleeves, and tried to look menacing. A boy as big as Walt should have been able to frighten someone as scrappy as Frankie, but Frankie didn't look too scared. Usually, Walt was a gentle giant. Today he had been pushed to the very edge of his patience.

"What's there to settle?" Frankie asked a little too glibly for Walt's liking.

Walt growled. When the Wrights came to visit from Green Gables, Frankie stayed in Walt's room. To Walt, Frankie had become an annoyance beyond compare. He was loud, read comic books instead of novels, played his fiddle incessantly, and had even poked fun at the picture of Nell Douglas that graced Walt's bureau.

"Is that your girlfriend, Bookworm?" Frankie had teased him. Walt remembered how he felt when Frankie had asked that, in such an infuriating tone. Walt _wanted_ her to be his girlfriend, but he wasn't sure how Nell felt. All he knew was that his stomach seized when he saw her, and when she spoke, he felt as though he was floating. Of course, he could hardly speak back, because his throat would tighten and no words would come. He, Walt, who had the romantic words of multiple authors at his fingertips, couldn't say a single one of them! How he wanted to be suave like the men in _The Great Gatsby_! How he wished he could drip honeyed words like Shakespeare's Romeo or Bronte's Heathcliff!

"She's not my girlfriend" Walt had explained to Frankie.

"Why'd she sign the photo, 'Hugs and Kisses, Nell', then?" Frankie mocked him. That was a sore point with Walt. Nell signed _everything_ that way. She felt that it made her more glamourous, like a movie star. Even Olivia and Gilly had photos of Nell signed with those words. But sometimes Walt pretended that those words had been written only for him, that one day he would be the recipient of Nell's physical affections. Frankie making fun of Nell's signature was the straw that broke the camel's back.

"We're going to fight" Walt said to his cousin. "If I win, you have to find somewhere else to sleep. If you win, well, I don't know yet…" Walt was bad at fighting, and even worse at making threats. Finally, he added, "I don't know yet, because I'm going to win."

Frankie smirked. "I don't think so, Bookworm!" With a quick punch, he hit Walt squarely in the nose. Walt was shocked. He'd never been in a fight before, and had expected something like a honourable duel. He felt a small amount of fluid trickle from one of his nostrils. Frankie had given him a nosebleed. Walt wouldn't stand for this. The younger boy was quicker, but Walt had the weight advantage. He hurled himself at Frankie, and knocked him to the ground. Walt had him pinned, and suddenly he felt very powerful.

"You're going to find somewhere else to sleep, right?" Walt growled.

"Yes" Frankie gasped. Walt was crushing his ribs, and he found it hard to breathe.

"And you'll take your nasty comic books with you?"

"Yes."

"And you'll stop saying that Nell is my girlfriend?"

"Yes."

Suddenly, a third voice entered their conversation. "I'm telling Mum. You aren't supposed to fight in the house." Walt had forgotten to close the bedroom door, and Merry stood there, watching the boys tussle on the floor.

The adults held a meeting that night to see what should be done with Walt and Frankie.

"They obviously can't share a room, that's certain," said Faith. She was bothered that it had come to this, but also proud of her son for standing up for himself. She'd always felt that he was a little too soft, and too easily walked all over. Maybe if he asserted himself more often, less people would take advantage of his good nature.

Anne sighed. Boys would be boys, but she had never liked fights of any kind. "We could clean out the garret, and set up a cot for him up there, but the garret isn't a very comfortable place to sleep."

Di said, "I'd like to send him back to Avonlea, but his father won't be back for another fortnight, and Diana and Fred have gone to Fredericton to visit some cousins of Fred's."

Finally, Nan had a solution. "He can stay at the manse. John and Rosemary have lots of empty rooms, and I'll be around to keep an eye on him." Nan rang the manse, and arrangements were made for Frankie to pack his bags and go there within the hour.

A whole new world was opened to Frankie at the manse. "Hello, there, son" John Meredith greeted him. He showed him the lay of the house, and ended in the library. The library was John Meredith's favourite room. It was filled with books that had taken years to collect, and he loved each one of them. The library faced west, so the light lasted longest in this room than anywhere else in the house. He hoped that Frankie would like the library as well. Frankie remained nonplussed.

"What do you like to read?" Reverend Meredith asked.

"Comics, mostly" Frankie said. "I don't suppose you have any of those?"

Reverend Meredith laughed a hearty laugh. "I haven't, but did you know that Little Orphant Annie is very similar to Oliver Twist?" The comparison was weak, but he hoped it would strike Frankie's interest.

"Orphant Annie is for girls," Frankie said contemptuously. Freddie read Little Orphant Annie comics.

"Ahh, yes. But Oliver Twist is an adventure" Reverend Meredith said as he retrieved the tome from a shelf. "Picture this, you're a young orphan boy, shivering cold on the foggy streets of London. You're offered a chance to make some money, and end up becoming a pickpocket. After a burglary gone wrong, you run away from that life, but the man who employed you is hunting you down, and a deadly game of cat and mouse ensues."

Frankie's eyes lit up, but he tried not to look very interested. Only sissies like Walt were interested in books. "Do you suppose I might borrow this book?" Frankie asked, trying to sound casual. "You know, just to see if it's half the adventure you say it is."

Reverend Meredith smiled as Frankie headed upstairs with Oliver Twist in his hand. The next morning, Frankie came to him again. He had stayed up all night reading, and said a little shyly, "You wouldn't happen to have any more adventure books? _Oliver Twist_ was a swell story, even though it had no pictures." The Reverend scanned the bookshelves and handed him _Treasure Island_ and _Moby Dick_.

On Friday afternoon, Suzy found Frankie lying on the small patch of grass outside the manse, reading _The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn_. "Have you read this yet?" he asked her. Suzy told him that she had. "Good," said Frankie, "because I'd like to discuss it with you sometime. How can they be so mean to black men? Just because they're a different colour? That's terrible!" He frowned, and continued reading. Suzy was surprised at the change in Frankie. He was no longer making rude jokes, or pulling pranks. He had found an outlet in reading, and she decided that she would like to discuss books with Frankie. However, she had other things to do. She had finished her knitting for the day, and had agreed to meet Cecilia to go into town and help her choose a new nail polish. Nan had grudgingly agreed that Cecilia was old enough to wear a little bit of make-up. Her little girl was growing up, and she wasn't sure she liked it. "No red!" Nan called out as they left, holding onto the fading ability to exercise her motherly prerogative.

The girls were outside the general goods store when they saw Olivia running toward them, with her hair streaming behind her. "I heard the most terrible thing!" she choked as she huffed for air.

"What is it?" Both Cecilia and Suzy gasped. They had visions of Grandmother having fallen down the stairs at Ingleside, or Aunt Rilla losing her baby.

Olivia's eyes bugged out. "Suzy, Gilly has drowned your kitten!"

Suzy's mouth went dry. Gilly drowned Phuunam? She pictured his little body, his smoky fur pasted against his skin by the water. Gilly couldn't have! Her heart sunk with disappointment. Her dear kitten was dead, and Gilly wasn't the chum that she thought he'd be.

Having caught her breath, Olivia continued. "I just heard it from Trudy. She said that Gilly came home, and she asked him where he'd been. He said that he'd been at the Glen pond, and that he'd finally finished off that Siamese cat. Oh, Suzy!"

"Excuse me, I need to go home" Suzy said, trying to hold back tears. Cecilia started to follow her. "I need to be alone. Please." Instead of going home, though, she decided to march out to the Fords' House of Dreams. She was going to give Gilly a piece of her mind. She would not cry and let him see her like that. With renewed vigour, Suzy wiped her face with her sleeve, and searched out that traitor, Gilly. She found him sitting by the little creek that bisected the garden of the House of Dreams. Gilly was whistling and staring up at the shapes in the clouds when Suzy snuck up behind him and grabbed him by the collar.

"Do you have any idea of what a horrible thing you've done, Gilbert Ford?" Suzy howled.

"Which horrible thing?" Gilly asked languidly, as he picked out the outline of a frog in a particularly fluffy cloud. Suzy was speechless. How could he be so cold-hearted?

Suzy couldn't hold in her tears any longer. "You cold-blooded murderer! Phuunam is dead by your hand! How do you feel about that?"

"Excuse me?" asked a female voice. Suzy turned and her eyes met those of the woman she had seen in Rainbow Valley. Una Meredith! Suzy had been so obsessed with finding Gilly that she hadn't noticed he had a companion to cloud-watch with. Suzy was ashamed about yelling in front of _her_, but not ashamed enough to stop shouting.

"He drowned my cat!" Suzy shouted.

"I'm sure he did no such thing," Una Meredith said in a low whispery voice. Suzy wanted to like her voice, but couldn't bear to listen to anyone who sided with a murderer. "Gilly, you didn't drown her cat, did you?"

Gilly stared at his feet. "No-o. But I did tell a lie." He stood up and faced Suzy. "I didn't drown Phuunam. But, Suzy, you don't know how difficult it is. Trudy's been jealous of your cat ever since you came to Ingleside, and I thought that maybe if I told her that I drowned him, she'd stop bugging Mum and Dad to get her a cat. I didn't lay a hand on him, I swear. He's still at Ingleside. I was there this afternoon, and he was sitting in Grandmother's lap while she talked to Grandma Leslie on the phone. I didn't think that Trudy would tell anyone else that I drowned the cat. She doesn't go to Ingleside often enough to know the difference. I was hoping she'd be happy that the cat was gone, but ashamed that I killed it, and not tell a soul. I didn't _want _to lie, but I didn't want Trudy to be sad because she can't have a cat…"

Satisfied that Phuunam was safe, Suzy let out a sigh of relief. She was still angry at Gilly and Trudy though. What a spoiled brat Trudy was if she needed to think someone else's cat was dead to assuage her sadness for not having one of her own, and what a patsy Gilly was if he would lie to soothe someone else's selfishness.

Beseechingly, Gilly looked deep into Suzy's eyes. "Can you forgive me?"

Unable to give a decisive answer, Suzy said, "I think I may be able to soon, but not right now. The shock of hearing about Phuunam's death has left me feeling upset. Gilly Ford, how could you even _say_ such a thing? I don't generally associate with liars, so you're going to need to gain my trust again. Good day, Gilly. Good day, Miss Meredith." Suzy held herself very straight, and walked steadily away. She was expected at Ingleside for dinner, because her Dad would be coming that evening.

Una Meredith looked at Gilly. "I somehow expected her to be more like her father," she said slowly.

"She's nothing like him," Gilly said appreciatively. "What a firebrand! Now there's a woman you can argue with." He thought about Sadie Douglas. She was a firebrand, too. Maybe once he'd gained Suzy's trust back, he could get her to pal around with Sadie and she could convince Sadie to take a romantic liking to him. He'd been after her for nearly a year, and by turns she'd either bat her eyelashes coquettishly, or insult him terribly. Gilly thought about the moods of Trudy, Suzy, and Sadie, and realized that women were terribly complicated. He could spend years trying to wrap his head around any of the things they said and did. He looked at Una. If she were twenty-five years younger, he'd have half a notion to marry her. She was sweet, but sad. Her sadness was easy to understand, though, not like the indecipherable emotions of the other girls. The next time Gilly saw Uncle Jem, he wanted to ask if the cryptic actions of women were biological. He set those thoughts aside, and turned back to the simplicity of late afternoon clouds. "Doesn't that one look like a swan?"


	8. A Drive to Carmody

What a beautiful Saturday it was! The sun seemed to shine more brightly than it had all week, and Dad was back! Suzy felt like dancing, so she did a waltz-y little step as she dusted the mantle in the parlour. When her chores were finished, she and Dad set out for a ramble around the Glen. She told him all about the events of the week, but glossed over what had happened with Phuunam and Gilly. Her heart still stung a little from that. Dad was particularly interested in Frankie's change in behaviour.

"Reverend Meredith has him absolutely hooked on literature" Suzy gushed. "I'm going to go over to the manse to talk about _Huckleberry Finn _with him some time soon."

Dad looked thoughtful. "Your Mother and I used to have a book club," he said. "The Athertons came, as well as other friends from the newspaper and the university. Every week, we'd choose a book, and then we'd meet to discuss it at the next meeting. I think maybe that's something you and Frankie might like to do. I'll join, too, and we can meet every Saturday. It'll give you something to do during the week, and something for us to talk about when I come to Ingleside. How does that sound, Scout?"

Suzy was excited about that idea, and when she saw Frankie in town, she suggested it to him. They decided that the book of the week would be _The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn_, and that Frankie would look for more members. "I think the Reverend M. would be crazy about this idea," Frankie said. He and Reverend Meredith were becoming close, and Frankie had bestowed up on him the nickname of 'Reverend M.'

When Dad left on Sunday, Suzy felt abandoned again. The following day, she moped around Ingleside, draping herself across the furniture dramatically.

"Hello, there, Mrs. Blythe!" a familiar voice could be heard on the verandah. Bruce Meredith! Suzy rushed to a mirror to check if her hair had become ruffled while lying on the chaise lounge.

"Bruce!" Grandmother said cheerfully. "Thank you so much for doing me this favour. Jem meant to take the radio in for repairs last week, but he's been busy with Mrs. Flagg over in Lowbridge. Poor woman has been having heart murmurs all week. Gilbert's been going absolutely squirrelly now that he can't listen to the news every night."

Suzy stepped out onto the verandah. Bruce looked tall and strong with the radio hoisted in his arms. "Hey there, Suzy" he said amicably. "Did you want to come with me for a drive into Carmody? I'm going to drop off the radio at the repair shop."

This was really too wonderful for Suzy to contemplate. "Oh, yes!" she said, perhaps a little too eagerly. "Let me get my purse!" Merry had given her a little black patent leather bag that was so much more grown up than the blue canvas satchel she had carried before. While she was upstairs, she borrowed a pair of spectator pumps from Merry's closet. _She won't mind_, Suzy thought. _I'll put them back right where I found them, before she comes back from the Douglases tonight. In pumps, I pass for at least sixteen. I wish I had a pair of my own. _She did have a lipstick though, a peachy one called Pretty Passionfruit that she kept hidden from Dad. Looking into the mirror above Merry's vanity, she lightly coloured her lips in.Pleased with how mature she looked, Suzy descended the stairs. Grandmother gave her a strange look, but a smile danced at the corners of her mouth.

Suzy spent most of the car ride listening to Bruce. He talked a bit about his job, and a lot about Hitler. "I think the world is on the verge of something big and terrible" Bruce said. "I was young during the last war, but I can still remember how afraid everyone was, and how all of the boys looked when they came home. War! To tell you the truth, I'm afraid. It's not an 'if' any more, Suzy. A war will happen. Hitler has become that much of a menace."

Suzy shivered a little. She'd seen Hitler's picture in the newspaper, and once she'd seen a newsreel featuring his pinched and ratty face. He gave her an unpleasant feeling, what Aunt Jacque called "the chills." Bruce must have noticed the upset look on Suzy's face, because he said, "Suzy? I didn't mean to frighten you. Look, we're at the repair shop. You can wait in the car while I take the radio in."

Suzy was relieved to be left on her own. As ridiculous as it sounded, what if Hitler made it all the way to _Canada_? She could hear the tune of the Piper, from across the ocean. It would be some time before they followed its seductive notes, but follow they would.

Bruce returned to the car. His cheery voice dispelled the lingering clouds of Suzy's gloom. "The repairman said that it's just a loose wire, and he'll have it fixed within the hour. Let's go for a soda while we wait." All thoughts of Hitler and war were banished. A soda with Bruce! Why, that was practically a date.

They left the car parked in front of the repair shop, and headed across the street to the soda fountain at the pharmacy. Even though Merry's shoes pinched her feet a little, Suzy felt like she was floating on air. She was ordering a chocolate float when she heard Bruce call out to someone, "Hello there! Imagine seeing you here!"

"Bruce Meredith!" a woman's voice replied. "How have you been?" Suzy turned to look at her. She was a tall, stately young woman, with perfectly bobbed blonde hair, and eyes like amethysts. She had on a gorgeous suit of lavender jersey, and wore a thick silver bracelet. _My shoes are nicer, though,_ thought Suzy, a little pettily. She had wanted Bruce's attention all to herself, and slightly resented this interloper.

Bruce grinned widely as he introduced the two young women. "Suzy, this is Chrissie McNeill, she and I were in the same classes at Redmond. Chrissie, this is Suzy Blythe, an old family friend." Suzy felt a little better after being introduced in an adult manner. She simply would have died of embarrassment if he had called her a "kid."

"What are you doing around this part of the world?" Bruce asked Chrissie. "I heard that you'd gone to Boston to teach elocution."

Chrissie laughed. "I almost did, but you know those Americans. They said that my accent was 'improper', and I didn't get the position. I think by 'improper', they meant, 'too Canadian.' So, here I am, back on PEI. I'm going to be teaching junior and senior Latin at the High School in Lowbridge." She turned to Suzy. "Are you going to be going there for school next year? I'd love to see you in my class."

Suzy tried to muster up as mature a tone as she could, which was difficult when drinking a chocolate float. "Actually, I'm just visiting. I'm going to return to Vancouver this autumn." Secretly, Suzy was pleased that Chrissie thought that she might be a junior, or even a senior. The heels and lipstick _had_ made her look older, and maybe Bruce would take notice.

Chrissie laughed again. "I should have known that you were a big city girl. You're like me, I think. I grew up in Toronto." Suzy and Chrissie started to chatter easily about the things they missed most about their respective cities. Bruce looked at them in amusement. After what seemed like a very short time, he announced that it was time to go pick up the radio, and that it had been good seeing Chrissie again.

"We simply _must_ get together again before the summer is over," Chrissie told Bruce once they were outside the pharmacy. With a wave, she walked down the street and disappeared into a bookstore.

"I liked her a lot," Suzy said, after the radio was retrieved, and they were on their way home.

"Maybe you should stay for the school year," Bruce suggested. "I know that your Dad would like that, and you could go to the Lowbridge High School. I think everyone around the Glen would like it if you stayed."

_Everyone around the Glen. _That included Bruce, too, didn't it? Suzy was confused. Was Bruce asking her to stay, for _him_? Her heart was torn between the city she loved, and a man that she was starting to have feelings for. Phoebe would understand if she stayed on the East Coast for love, wouldn't she? Suzy mulled this over as she walked up the front steps at Ingleside. She was so deep in thought, that she didn't notice the slight wiggle of the heel of Merry's left shoe. There was a snap, and Suzy fell down the stairs. The searing pain in her foot and ankle combined with the day's hot weather was too much, and all she could hear was, "Suzy? Suzy? Let me carry you, sweetie!" before her head grew foggy and every thing went black.


	9. Persis Hatches an Idea

"There you go," said the elder Dr. Blythe, as he finished wrapping a bandage around his granddaughter's ankle. "That was quite a spill you took. You can't go _falling_ for every man that walks you home, Suzy." His warm hazel eyes twinkled, and he winked at her. Suzy laughed a little. His puns were nearly as bad as Uncle Carl's. She'd never known her Atherton grandparents, so she was doubly glad to know the Blythes. "That ankle is badly sprained, so you aren't going to be able to walk on it for a few days," he explained to her.

Suzy groaned. There were plenty of things that she'd been planning to do that week. She and Cecilia were going to see a new movie at the cinema before she left for Avonlea, and Merry had promised to help her choose yarn for a tam that she planned to crochet for the fall.

Merry! Suzy had forgotten about the shoes. She blushed furiously when Grandpa Gilbert handed them to her. "And when you have the all clear to walk on that foot, I'd suggest that you don't walk in these" he said, a little sternly. Secretly, he chuckled fondly at Suzy's vanity. She reminded him of a certain orphan who so long ago had many mishaps in the name of vanity, including accidentally dyeing her hair green!

Grandpa helped her up the stairs, and when she was safe in her room, she threw the dreaded pumps under the bed. What would she tell Merry? Her face burned with guilt. Of course, she should not have borrowed them without asking, and this was her punishment. All she could think of to do was to keep the pumps hidden until she could think of a better idea. Surely Merry wouldn't have anywhere to go where she would wear any shoes other than her everyday ones?

The next morning, Bruce came to see Suzy. "I'm sorry that I didn't catch you before you fell" he said. "If I hadn't had the stereo, I would have. Here, I brought you these to keep you entertained while you're laid up. I wasn't sure which to pick, so I had to ask Cecilia." Bruce handed her a stack of glossy fashion magazines. Suzy's heart fluttered. She had never received a gift from a young man, except for at Christmas from Phoebe's cousins on the Tessier side, and those didn't count.

"Thank you" she whispered.

Bruce grinned. "The least I could do." He reached into his pocket, and pulled out a chocolate bar. "I hope you're not on a diet like Merry is all the time, because I brought you this as well."

Bruce stayed a few more minutes, before being ushered out by Freddie and Olivia. Suzy was a little disappointed, but couldn't stay bothered for long. Freddie had an infectious wide grin on her face.

"Uncle Carl and Aunt Persis are back" Olivia squealed as she sat down on the bed. "Aunt Persis called Mother up today, and said that she wanted us girls to come over for tea."

Uncle Carl and Aunt Persis always came to PEI from Japan during the summer. Their home in Japan had been a gift from Persis' father, who had been bequeathed it when a Japanese friend of his had passed away. Suzy knew that their return to PEI this summer was different. They had sold the little Japanese house after hearing whispers that Japan sympathized with the Germans, and were back to stay.

"I can't go to tea with you" Suzy said sadly.

"Why not?" Olivia asked frankly. "If it's because of Trudy, you don't need to worry. She's gone out to Lowbridge with Tilly Murray and won't be coming with us."

Suzy gestured toward her ankle, and Freddie laughed. "I already thought of that, dear cousin. You are going to be carried in high style to tea. Walt cleaned out a wheelbarrow for us, and Grandmother lent us a quilt to put in the bottom."

Suzy's face burned. Imagine being pushed through the Glen in a wheelbarrow! She would have to endure it though, because she did want to go see Aunt Persis. Her cousins helped her down the stairs, and sat her down in the wheelbarrow. They started across one of the lots, and met up with Cecilia. The girls were having a laugh over one of Freddie's riddles when their path was crossed by Willie Kirk Drew. He had been kicking a ball around, but decided that tormenting the girls would be more fun.

"Wheelbarrow girl! Wheelbarrow girl!" he called out. Suzy rolled her eyes. It was obvious that he thought himself to be quite the wit for thinking up that one.

"You won't call my cousin that!" cried Freddie, who was still young enough to be stung by such insults. "Maybe I should call you freckle-face, and see how you like that! Freckle-face! Freckle-face!"

Willie was unruffled by the name calling. He'd been called freckle-face as long as he could remember. "I'm not going to let you pass, unless one of you gives me a kiss!"

Suzy shuddered. She hoped fervently that she wouldn't be the object of Willie's attentions, and then felt guilty for hoping when she noticed that his gaze fell on Olivia.

"I think I'd like a kiss from the sweet lips of Olivia Ford" Willie said. He took a step toward her, but was stopped by Cecilia.

"You shan't kiss any of us!" Cecilia exclaimed, and punched him in the face. "Run!" she commanded the girls, and they dashed across the lot, leaving Willie Kirk Drew in a state of surprise. Cecilia, a minister's daughter, had taken down one of the roughest boys in the Glen!

They arrived at Aunt Persis and Uncle Carl's house, still shaking from the encounter with Willie. Who was he to think that he could kiss their dear Olivia?

Uncle Carl greeted them all warmly, but a bit absentmindedly. He had been reading a digest of etymology when the girls had arrived and was eager to continue with the article on the nesting habits of African wasps.

Aunt Persis was as lovely as ever, and swept out of the parlour in delicate red high heels that put Merry's new pumps to shame. Even in something as ordinary as a cotton house dress, Aunt Persis was glamourous. Her bobbed blonde hair was sleek against her pink cheeks, and her cream-coloured dress was printed with cherries and cinched at the waist with a red belt that matched her lipstick and shoes perfectly. Suzy made a mental note that she would like a cherry printed dress for school next year to go with her red sweater. She knew that she would never turn heads like Aunt Persis did, but the cherries were too dear!

"Girls!" Aunt Persis cried out, and kissed each one on the cheek. "You've all grown so since I saw you last! I wasn't expecting such a group of lovely young ladies. We'll have such a nice afternoon, and such a good gossip. Now tell me, you must all have beaux?"

"We call them boyfriends nowadays, Aunt Persis," said Olivia.

"Ah, but that takes all of the romance out of it" Aunt Persis said with a wink. "Come into the parlour. I have such a nice tea set out for us."

There was something youthful and open about Aunt Persis, and soon everyone was chatting and sharing secrets with her. Before she knew it, Suzy was telling her about how she had mistaken Una for her mother.

Olivia's eyes shone. "Wouldn't it be wonderful if they were to fall in love?" she asked. "Then you could stay in the Glen always, Suzy."

Suzy frowned for a split second, because she didn't want to stay in the Glen. "I don't think that could happen."

"Anything can happen," Persis said confidently. "We just need to bring them together." She sat up straight, and had a commanding air like a general. "I'll have a party next weekend, for Shirley's return. I know that Una has been looking for an excuse to bake that red velvet cake from Women's Digest, so of course she'll be here."

Plans were laid for the party, with the girls running to and from the 'phone calling Ingleside and the manse to enlist the help of others. Suzy felt guilty asking Merry to bring down Grandmother's punch bowl from the high shelf in the kitchen. _I will tell her about the shoes, soon!_ Suzy thought.

Olivia and Freddie took turns pushing Suzy back to Ingleside, and Grandmother invited Olivia to stay for dinner and sleep over night. Olivia stayed in Suzy's room, and as they cuddled under the covers that night, Olivia whispered to her, "Suzy? Can I tell you a secret?"

Suzy nodded, and Olivia said, "Don't tell anyone, but I think I may have liked for Willie to kiss me." Then she rolled over, threw the blanket over her head, and refused to say any more.


	10. The Shirley Temple Look Alike Contest

Johanna bounced up and down in her chair in the kitchen at Ingleside. "Can we go yet?" she asked. "Can we go, please?"

"Sit still or we'll never be able to finish curling your hair" Faith said with a sigh, as she unrolled another rag from Johanna's blonde hair.

"I look like Heidi in my dress!" Johanna exclaimed, patting her hands on her blue dirndl skirt.

Merry rolled her eyes. Normally she was good-natured, but Johanna was becoming tiresome. Ever since Uncle Ken had mentioned a Shirley Temple look-alike contest that was taking place at the Lowbridge cinema, Johanna had not been able to stop talking about it. Merry had taken her to see _Heidi_ at the cinema in Lowbridge last Christmas, and Johanna had been won over by dear Shirley Temple. The rest of the family indulged Johanna, and Olivia and Trudy saved pictures from movie magazines for Johanna to paste in a scrapbook.

"Do I look pretty like Shirley Temple yet?" Johanna asked impatiently. She wanted to go to the cinema and see Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm, and be the prettiest girl there so that she could win a Shirley Temple doll and free movie tickets for a year.

Faith smoothed one of her daughter's ringlets and expertly slid a hairpin and a blue ribbon bow into her hair. "All done, sweetheart!"

As Johanna scampered away to show her grandmother her curls and new socks with ruffles at the ankle and the tap shoes that came all the way from Charlottetown, Faith turned to Merry.

"Be careful" Faith warned. Merry had loan of her Grandfather Blythe's car for the afternoon to take Johanna to Lowbridge, and though Merry had driven with her to Four Winds several times, Faith was worried about her daughter on the Harbour road.

"I think I can drive the Harbour road," Merry said, reading her mother's mind. What Faith didn't know was that Merry _knew_ she could drive the Harbour road, because last summer Bruce had allowed her to drive his jalopy anywhere she pleased while he was at work, and she often went to Lowbridge to see her friend, Arlene Parker. Arlene was visiting relatives in Nova Scotia, so Merry hadn't felt the need to borrow Bruce's car this summer.

"Are you sure you can operate the brake in those shoes?" Faith asked. Merry had borrowed a pair of Faith's heels, because she hadn't been able to find her new spectator pumps and her everyday shoes just didn't go with the dress she wanted to wear to the cinema. She had a feeling that Freddie had taken them, because she had seen Freddie pretending to be the queen of the fairies, wearing Aunt Di's shoes and one of Grandmother's hats, with an old silk shawl as wings. Merry knew her shoes would be a better fit for Freddie than Aunt Di's, and Freddie couldn't keep her hands off anything that she wanted. Merry hoped that Freddie would put the shoes back where she found them, because she wanted to wear them to Aunt Persis' party on Saturday night.

"If I can't operate the brake, I can just kick my shoes off and do it barefoot" Merry said practically.

"That's my girl!" said Faith, laughing as she hugged Merry. "Now go. And see if your cousin Suzy wants to go with you. She's been sitting on the verandah all morning, and I don't think she knows what to do with herself."

Merry collected her handbag, and walked out to the verandah. Grandmother and Suzy were sitting together, Grandmother with a book, and Suzy with some knitting.

"Grandmother says I look like an alpine dream!" Johanna exclaimed as she took Merry's hand.

"Would you like to come to the cinema with us, Suzy?" Merry asked. Suzy didn't say anything, but turned red as she cast her eyes down and began to knit and purl furiously. Merry thought it was awfully queer how Suzy was acting, but supposed that she must still be shy. "It's okay if you don't feel like coming. I'm going to buy a case of soda while I'm in town. What flavour do you like? I like Orange."

"I like Cherry" said Grandmother. "Bottled soda drinks are sometimes too sweet, but cherry is delightful. I especially like the first sip from the bottle – oh! It's so cold and the fizz is like stars and comets in your mouth! Merry, I'd gladly pay you back if you bring me some cherry soda. Just don't tell your Grandfather!"

Suzy looked up. "You're being too nice." She said it kindly enough, but Merry thought she could hear a note of panic in Suzy's voice. She dismissed it though, because she was in a hurry to get the car started and go to Lowbridge.

The day was warm, and Johanna became fussy quickly. Merry tried to entertain her with fairy stories and cheerful songs, but it was difficult to concentrate on the road. Finally she said, "You're riding in the front seat, Johanna! How grown up! Even I don't get to ride in the front seat when we go driving with Mum and Dad!" Johanna smiled despite the heat, thinking herself to be the most important girl in the world. She wondered if Shirley Temple got to ride in the front seat of a car as fine as Grandfather Blythe's.

"We'll behave in the cinema, won't we?" Merry asked as she helped the little girl out of the car.

"But behaving is boring!" Johanna whined. "Behaving is not fun!"

"I don't think that Shirley Temple causes trouble when she goes to the cinema" Merry said, and that was that. The sisters entered the cinema lobby hand in hand. Merry was surprised at how many girls were there, hoping to be named the prettiest. There were Shirleys in Swiss garb, aviator caps, raincoats, or ruffled party dresses. There were many aspiring Shirleys who didn't even have blonde hair. Mothers were adjusting hair bows and sashes. Johanna patted her curls vainly. At least _her_ hair was the right colour.

A boy called out to Merry, "Hey, Meredith! This is a Shirley Temple look-alike contest, not a Deanna Durbin one!"

Merry turned around and saw that the boy was Ted Kent. Ted lived out near Shrewsbury, at New Moon. She knew his sister Juliet from the Northern PEI branch of Canadian Girls in Training, and as much as she liked Ted, she never accepted any of his offers for dates. Ted's mother was an author, and Merry didn't want anyone saying that she only dated Ted because his mother was famous. She had a proud streak that was hidden by her jollity, and was always nice to Ted when she turned him down. He was handsome, with his broad shoulders and crew cut hair, but Merry always made herself say no.

Ted had two of his little sisters with him, neither of whom looked anything like Shirley Temple, save for the ringlets. They both had brown hair, grey eyes that were the almost-blue of the ocean on a winter day, and ears that were slightly pointed. The younger one, Starla, reached out and pulled on one of Johanna's curls. Johanna flinched, and her face crumpled. Merry sensed a tantrum, and gently said to Starla, "Please don't pull her hair."

"I'm sorry. It's so lovely, though. Like gold, or the Harvest Lady." Starla looked up at Ted imploringly. "Tell me the story about the Harvest Lady again, Ted. Please?"

Ted looked a bit embarrassed. "How about I buy you girls a soda?" he said, avoiding the request for a story. After all, he was trying to convince Merry to let him take her out some time soon. Surely Merry wouldn't be interested in a silly story about the Harvest Lady. Ted gave Laura, the older one, a dime. "Go to the snack bar, and come right back."

"The Harvest Lady?" Merry asked, with a dimple dancing in her cheek. How that dimple drove Ted crazy! Merry looked equal parts mischievous and sweet when she smiled that way, and Ted could never decide which part he liked better.

"You know, it's just a story for my kid sisters…" he said, and stopped.

Laura returned, skipping a little and swinging the glass bottle in her hand. She passed it to Ted, and he took his Swiss Army knife from his pocket and retracted the bottle opener. So smitten with Merry, Ted hadn't noticed the shaking that Laura had given the little bottle. When he opened it, cola shot into the air, spraying both Laura and Johanna. Starla missed the spray, but shrieked the loudest. Soon, Laura and Johanna were crying, too. Other girls started to squeal, and Merry lowered her head as she escorted the little girls to the ladies' room. After trying her best to comfort them and clean the cola from their dresses, Merry made the decision to take Johanna home. Her dress was stained with large brown spots, and the heat was starting to take the curl from her hair. Merry also noticed that Johanna's cheeks were growing pink and her eyelids were becoming heavy, so it was nearly time for the younger girl to have a nap.

"I want to stay and win the contest!" Johanna howled. "I want a Shirley Temple doll! I want to see Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm!"

Some of the mothers in the lobby were starting to look at them. Merry's face burned. She suddenly felt very small and very incompetent. "If we go home now, I'll buy you a Shirley Temple doll from the Sears catalog, and some Dionne Quints paper dolls, too." Merry hoped desperately that she had five dollars in her little coin jar at home.

Ted saw an opportunity that he could not miss. "And I will take you to see Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm on Saturday afternoon" he said, kneeling down so he was face to face with the little girl. "Of course, your sister will have to come with us, and be our chaperone" he said with a wink. Johanna giggled.

Merry sighed. "Shall we meet in Lowbridge?"

Ted grinned. "I'll drive out to the Glen to pick you up after lunch on Saturday. The matinee starts at two."

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Suzy felt more and more guilty the longer she sat on the porch. How terrible it was to lie! - but she wasn't sure that the truth would be less awful. She still had to spend the rest of the summer in the same house as Merry, and she didn't think she could bear to have Merry hate her for destroying her shoes.

Maybe she could put the shoes back, and Merry would never know who had borrowed them? It was a silly idea, but Suzy couldn't think of any better one. If confronted, she would have to say that it had been her, but perhaps Merry would just shrug it off?

Suzy crept upstairs, and retrieved the pumps from under her bed. She laid them carefully in the bottom of Merry's wardrobe. As she left her cousin's room, she crossed her fingers and hoped for the best.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Johanna was bathed and changed into one of her play dresses at home, and Merry counted the coins in her jug. She was relieved to see that she had nearly seven dollars saved from doing errands around Ingleside, and put aside five so that she could order the dolls the next time the Sears catalog arrived. Idly, she looked in her wardrobe and wondered what to wear on Saturday. She wasn't entirely pleased that Ted had angled his way into a date with her, but she did want to look nice. After all, a movie with a boy _was_ a movie with a boy.

Dismayed, Merry picked up her pumps. She didn't remember breaking the heel. In fact, she always walked carefully and prettily, like an article in _Womens' Day_ had instructed. The only person she knew who walked heavily – nay, _stomped_ – in pumps was Freddie. Merry looked at the ceiling and bit her lip to keep from yelling. When she composed herself, she marched down to the verandah where Freddie had abandoned her guise of Fairy Queen, and was fencing against an imaginary opponent.

"What's this?" Merry asked, her lip trembling as she waved the broken shoe in Freddie's face.

"A broken shoe, I'd bet" Freddie said carelessly. She cared nothing of broken shoes. She was D'Artagnan fighting for the honour of her fellow Musketeers.

"Please don't borrow my things without asking" Merry said coldly, as she dropped the shoe at Freddie's feet before turning to go inside.

Freddie momentarily looked perplexed, but continued to wave her makeshift sword. The shoe became a memento of a kidnapped princess, and her game turned to a pirate chase on the high seas. Freddie lamented Merry's status as a young adult. A broken shoe was such a petty problem compared to goblins in the land of Fae, or a princess kidnapped by the ghost of a sea captain. Freddie dearly hoped that she would never grow up, and that she could stay in this dreamy world forever, where a twilight verandah was the stage for madcap flights of fancy.

"I shall never grow up and and I shall never worry about anything!" Freddie proclaimed to herself. "Well, I will grow _older, _so I can do as I please. But I will never grow up on the _inside_."


	11. An Unexpected Visitor

Dr. Blythe proclaimed Suzy's ankle to be right as rain, and she became a daily guest at Aunt Rilla's house. Thankfully, Trudy spent most of her days with other girls of the Glen and didn't trouble her too much. Gilly spent his days with Walt in pursuit of the Douglas girls, so she didn't need to worry about breaking her vow to not talk to him. The weather was cloudy the day before Aunt Persis' party, and Suzy fretted a little about the marcel wave that Elaine Milgrave had put in for her at the beauty parlour. She hoped that the clouds weren't a sign of rain, because then her wave would be straightened. Aunt Rilla had treated her to a haircut and style, but drew the line at a permanent.

"I don't know if your father would approve" Aunt Rilla had said. "A bob is already a little too grown up, but fourteen is old enough to know your own mind about a hairstyle..."

"Since Dad isn't here, he can't approve or disapprove" Suzy pointed out, but that was the only arguement she felt like making. Dear Aunt Rilla was too sweet to argue with, and a marcel wave was better than no style at all. And her hair was bobbed! She kept touching the back of her neck, thrilling at the short hairs there. Vainly, she thought that her dark hair looked much nicer in a marcel wave than Trudy's toffee coloured permanent.

But there wasn't much time to be vain. Aunt Rilla needed help in the kitchen. Since the weather had turned, she had decided that it would be a good day to do some baking. "Of course, I could go to the bakery, but there is no recipe like Susan Baker's Monkey Face Cookies" Aunt Rilla said, opening a cupboard. "Suzy, could you get that stool and climb up to get the baking powder? It is on the top shelf, and I'm too big to reach so high. I don't know how it got up there, unless Olivia and Freddie put it there when they made cake last week." She laughed a little to herself, thinking of the failed cake, flat and shiny on top with a partially sunken centre. Neither of the girls had made a cake before. Olivia read the recipe incorrectly, that a tbsp stood for tub rather than tablespoon and put in nearly a whole tin of baking powder. Freddie forgot the milk, and dropped in the egg, shell and all. The whole experience including the queer look on Gilly's face when he cut a slice caused Olivia to declare her intentions to be diligent during Home Economics classes next year.

Rilla turned toward the window at the sound of an engine coming to a stop. "How odd," she thought. "I don't recognize that auto." A man in a black suit exited, and walked around the car to open the door and extend his hand to a tiny woman who looked to be ninety years old. "Aunt Allegra Ford" Rilla gasped.

"Who?" Suzy asked.

Rilla sighed. "She is a maiden grand-aunt of Ken's. Aunt Allegra lives in Fredericton, and is quite old and quite finicky. She keeps writing to say she will visit, and never arrives. I can't greet her like this." Rilla untied the kerchief from her head and struggled to reach her apron ties until Suzy helped her. She then reached into a cupboard and withdrew what Suzy considered to be the ugliest tray she had ever seen; a flat porcelain oval painted with gaudy pink roses and bronze handles shaped like swans with their necks wrung about each other. "Horrible, isn't it?" Rilla said grimly. "It belonged to Aunt Allegra's mother, and was given to us on our wedding day. Now, be a dear and take the pound cake I was going to send to the manse from the icebox, and arrange some slices on the tray. Please greet Aunt Allegra while I make myself presentable."

Suzy did as she was told, and opened the door just as Aunt Allegra's driver made the first rap. "How very nice to meet you, Aunt Allegra" she said a little desparately. How did one greet a maiden aunt? Her mother and Uncle Kelly had no maiden aunts, and Aunt Jacque's family ran to beautiful women who would never end up spinsters. "How are you this afternoon?" To be frank, this tiny lady with high cheeks and stiff white waved hair frightened Suzy a little. Her tiny teeth gleamed behind red lipstick. It didn't quite seem fitting for a woman of her age to look so pointed and painted.

"As well as can be expected at my age. Time does us all no favours" Aunt Allegra said brusquely. "Why, you're Owen all over again, aren't you? I was afraid you might turn out like the Blythes. They run to red hair, don't they? But I must say, your mother's hair was a nice copper, though I suppose it must have started to grey by now. So, which one are you? Gertrude or Olivia? I hope you don't let your mother call you Gertrude. You must have a more suitable middle name."

Shellshocked, Suzy managed to say, "My name is Susan Blythe. I'm Aunt Rilla and Uncle Ken's niece." How could this woman insult the Blythes! "Please, come in and have a seat in the parlour."

"I don't see much Blythe in you" Aunt Allegra said as she and Suzy sat on the settee. "Though you do have a chin like the Doctor. He's a fine doctor, but can't hold a candle to Doctor Mason of Fredericton. Of course, Doctor Mason is young and has all of the newest education. He has me taking a new pill for my heart instead of digitalis."

Suzy started to silently count the stitches on one of the needlepoint cushions, stitched in a pattern of the seashore, to distract from Aunt Allegra's voice. It must have been stitched by one of the other aunts, she reflected. Ingleside was filled with cushions worked by Aunt Nan. She lost her place, and looked at Aunt Allegra again, and at the taut wrinkles eminating from the scarlet mouth. How could this horrid woman be from the same family as kind Uncle Ken?

"To be honest, I thought Bertha may have been consumptive. She was such a lanky thing, a lot of consumptives are, you know. Of course, God bless, she isn't. I don't know if Kenny would have been able to care for a consumptive wife." Aunt Allegra scrutinized Suzy's face, and she could feel her cheeks burn. "You're a little high coloured, Susan. I do hope you aren't prone to wheezing."

Suzy could not stand one more minute listening to her, especially to hear her talk about consumption! The word had followed Suzy since childhood like a horrible spectre. "Would you like tea, Aunt Allegra?" she asked, with as much politeness as she could muster. The moment the older woman answered in the affirmative, Suzy fled the room and, with shaking hands, filled the kettle. Oh, where was Aunt Rilla! Suzy felt she could not face that terrible woman again, but she was a grand daughter of Anne Blythe, and her pride meant that wouldn't let Aunt Allegra have any reason to speak against her. With a firm resolve, she placed the teapot and two cups and saucers on the tray, filled the cream boat and gently rested the tongs on top of the sugar cubes. Holding her head high, Suzy entered the parlour, and promptly turned her weak ankle. As she fell forward, in an unlikely feat, Suzy managed to lay the tray flat on the floor, only spilling a small amount of cream.

"Oh my!" she gasped, and realized what a ridiculous sight she must be to Aunt Allegra. And then there was the tray – Aunt Allegra's wedding gift to the Fords. Suzy gasped again when she realized that the rough slam had broken the tray into two pieces. "I apologize, I know it was your mother's..." she stammered. Aunt Allegra gasped, and Suzy held her breath. Why, Aunt Allegra was laughing, giant laughs that shook her small frame! She gasped again for air, and said, "Child, please don't think that I didn't know that tray was awful. Just look at it. Those simpering swans look as though their necks were wrung! I've hated it for at least eighty-five years and took the first chance I had to have it out of my house. If you call something an heirloom, there will always be a family member who feels obligated to take it."

Suzy didn't know what to say. "But it was your mother's..." she repeated weakly.

"And I'm sure it was the fashion when she purchased it. Then again, so was mourning jewelry. I would never wear a lock of the deceased's hair, or worse, their fingernails. Can you imagine? Now, pick yourself up off the floor, and bring the cake and tea over to the table. Tell me Susan, have you ever had an unattractive piece of furniture or ugly china in your home?"

Suzy did as she was told, and confided in Aunt Allegra, about the vanity in her old room. Aunt Allegra told her a story about her own childhood, away at boarding school in England. By the time Rilla was coiffed and painted, the two were chatting like old friends.

As the afternoon drew to a close, Aunt Allegra withdrew a calling card from her small bag and handed it to Suzy. "Please visit me if you are in Fredericton, or write me a letter. I suppose you could even 'phone – how strange it seems to have my 'phone number on a calling card! How things have changed since I first started using calling cards!"

"Please don't leave, Aunt Allegra" Rilla said, more from politeness than a genuine wish to have her stay. "You haven't met Ken's children yet."

"Bertha, I have never liked children and they have never liked me, present company excepted" Aunt Allegra waved her hand. "I would also like to be in Charlottetown before dark. I have business to conduct tomorrow morning."

Suzy watched as the car drove away, and then walked back to Ingleside. "Visitors come in threes" Uncle Kelly used to say. Dad was coming back on Saturday, but who would the third visitor be?


	12. A Guest of Ingleside

The next visitor was not from out of town, but a fixture of Glen St. Mary who took up residence at Ingleside until he had nearly exceeded his welcome. Although, as Suzy reflected later, no guest was ever truly unwelcome at Ingleside, they were merely welcome for different lengths of time.

Aunt Di had prepared Friday morning's breakfast, and allowed Suzy and Cecilia to take their plates to the verandah and sit on the wicker furniture. They had a view of the path leading to the house, and were keeping a keen eye out for Cecilia's father. He had promised the girls a ride to Shrewsbury to visit the book store and have an ice-cream, but Mrs. Anthony Pye was seized by a crisis of faith, and he had been called back to Avonlea on Wednesday. The Reverend had promised to return by Friday morning, and 'phoned from Bright River to say that he would be on the seven o'clock train.

"Someone is coming up the road, Suzy!" cried Cecilia. She then furrowed her pretty brow in confusion. "It's not Dad, though." The man approaching Ingleside had a large white beard and a rucksack over his shoulder that put Suzy in mind of Santa Claus, but the snapping blue eyes told a different story. Despite the basket he carried with two splendid pies in it, which should have put a smile on even the most curmudgeonly face, the man looked quite agitated. "Hello, Uncle Norman!" Cecilia called out to him.

"Hullo, there, Kitten" he said gruffly with tightened lips, as though he were holding back a booming voice filled with anger.

"Did Mum give you those pies?" Cecilia asked sweetly. "She was slicing apples last night."

" 'Did Mum give you those pies?' she asks!" Norman Douglas roared. Suzy clenched her fork tightly. His voice was fearsome and had a startling deepness to it. She was sure that he could be heard down in Rainbow Valley. "Give them to me! I wanted to buy them, and she nearly didn't when I asked! 'Please, Mr. Douglas' she said, 'I won't accept money for them, as you are family.' Women! I told her I wouldn't take the pie unless she took my money, and eventually she dropped the silliness and took the ten dollars I left her."

"You bought Mum's pies?" Cecilia asked incredulously.

"Look, girl!" Norman howled. "I know you aren't stupid. I've seen you catch both your father and your grandfather in contradictions in their sermons. Am I not carrying two apple pies, among the best on P.E. Island?"

"That they are" agreed Cecilia. "You paid ten dollars for pie?"

"I also bought the plates and the basket. I don't know when I'll be back at the manse to return them, so I gave her fair market value" Norman said. "I can spend my money any way I wish, and that is what I was telling Ellen. That woman seems to think I should give more to the church. Years ago, Red Rose convinced me to give $200 a year, and attend 12 sermons. Of course, inflation over the years means I'm paying considerably more and getting considerably less from the sermon! There are only so many times you can hear the Reverend, and he doesn't talk about Hell nearly enough. Tell your grandfather that, Kitten. I think he has stopped listening to me. There's nothing to cause the fear of the Lord quite like a dose of brimstone! Ellen and I had a row over it - she's just as stubborn as I am, and I daresay more clever, but don't tell her I said anything of the sort - so I told her 'Woman, I can spend my money any way I please!' and I aim to show her that I can and will, and it won't be spent at the church! Is the Mrs. Dr. Blythe home? I'd like to purchase lodging from her."

Suzy was suddenly feeling very bold. "Why don't you apologize?" 

Norman chortled. "Apologize! I only apologize when I am in the wrong. There's no person wrong in this arguement, just two sides that refuse to meet. Who are you to tell me to apologize?" 

"Suzy Blythe" she said, a bit quietly. She didn't like the dismissive tone in his chortle.

"A Blythe I haven't met, so you must be Shirley's kid. Did you know that Shirley hoped to marry our Una? How do you feel about that?"

Some of her boldness returned and she snapped, "I'm right glad he didn't, for then I wouldn't exist."

Norman looked at her with his intense eyes, scrutinizing her reply. "So, Suzy Blythe, why is it I should care that you exist?"

Suzy nearly felt like withering up and disappearing into one of the cracks on the verandah, but was struck by an answer that Norman could not argue with. "If I didn't exist, you would have no-one to argue with on the Ingleside verandah about existence, and I do believe that you like to argue." She knew that her face must have held an unbecoming smug smirk, but she did not care. Norman's stunned silence was worth it.

"Well played!" Norman boomed as soon as he was able to. "I can get along with a clever girl like you. You're a real trooper, a scout. Would you like a pie? Best apple pie in the Glen, I must say!"

A bed was made in the garret for Norman by Aunt Faith, supervised by an amused Dr. and Mrs. Blythe.

"I don't think he'll stay away from Ellen too long" Dr. Blythe said, with a smile that crinkled his cheeks. "Marriage can do that to a man, Anne-girl."

"As Miss Cornelia would have said, 'It's just like a man to say that'" Anne replied, but her eyes danced.

Uncle Jerry arrived as promised, and the girls had a wonderful day in companionable quiet looking at books. Cecilia spent her pocket money on a lovely illustrated version of _A Midsummer's Night Dream_, which had beautiful watercolour paintings of fairies. Suzy ached to have her own copy, but decided to be sensible and choose _Ivanhoe_ and _Frankenstein_, which were required reading for literature classes next year. They were in town late, so Uncle Jerry treated them to sandwiches and soda at the diner. All in all, it was a very full day, but Suzy had difficulty falling asleep. She was eager to see Dad, and crept into the kitchen at quarter to eleven to wait for him. Norman was up, too, in his blue flannel pajamas, and a red knit nightcap.

"I'll leave the light on for you, and the pie on the table" Norman said with a nod. "Goodnight, Scout." Suzy smiled at the familiar nickname, but Norman didn't know that.

After what felt like hours, Suzy's eyelids started to grow heavy. "I'll just rest my eyes until Dad comes" she promised herself, but her closed eyes quickly brought slumber. When Shirley arrived, his dear girl's arms were folded on the table, cradling her dark-locked head. Shirley had missed her painfully, but resisted the urge to wake her. He slid one arm under her arms, and another under her legs, careful not to disturb her, and laid her on the chaise lounge in the parlour. Shirley found a blanket in the linen cabinet, and gently tucked it around Suzy. He departed with a kiss on her forehead, and switched out the light.


	13. A Gay Saturday

Saturday morning was a gay affair with Dad home, Suzy thought cheerfully, and then quickly amended her thought. _With Dad back_, she corrected herself. Home was in Vancouver. She felt a little pang remembering the new family in their house. There wasn't much time to think about it, because Ingleside was filled from top to bottom with aunts and uncles and cousins and friends. Aunt Nan and Uncle Ken were cooking griddle cakes and eggs as quickly as they could with Aunt Faith mixing more batter, and the happy breakfasters were spread through the kitchen and dining room and out on to the verandah and blankets in the garden. Norman had one of Susan Baker's old voluminous white aprons tied about him, and stood in front of the sink washing the plates that came back to him. 

"Isn't that women's work, Uncle Norman?" Carl asked, with a wink. Persis playfully jabbed him in the ribs with an elbow, and he grabbed her arm and started to waltz her across the kitchen.

"A woman's work is never done," Norman grumbled, "unless a man comes in and does it quick. Not right, like a woman's way, mind you, but fast and done."

Johanna became extremely attatched to her Uncle Shirley, and followed him like a shadow. She was fascinated by his name. "But Shirley is a name for girls!" she protested.

Shirley picked her up and swung her in the air. "Do I look like a girl? How about Shirley Temple? I can tap dance, you know." He did a clumsy step, and Johanna's laughter pealed around the verandah. Suzy felt a pang of loneliness again. How nice it would have been to have a brother or sister! Phoebe was like a sister, but it couldn't compare to having a family under one roof. Suzy skulked upstairs to her room, and pulled a piece of paper from the little writing desk.

_Dear Phoebe_, she started. But what could she tell her? Suzy didn't want to tell her cousin about Bruce, that was a feeling that welled up inside and embarrassed her so, and she couldn't put it to paper. She couldn't bear to share the hurt Gilly had caused her by lying about the kitten, or the hurt she surely caused Merry by ruining her shoes. There was the plan to bring Dad and Una Meredith together, but that was a hope that fluttered weakly and caused Suzy much conflict. No, she couldn't share that with Phoebe either, because it might mean not returning in the fall. She scowled as she crumpled the paper into a ball and threw it across the room.

There was a knock at the door. "Scout?" Dad asked. "Can I come in?"

Suzy reached for the door and let him into the room. "Are you feeling well?" he asked. "You left breakfast so quickly." 

Suzy nodded. "I'm just writing a letter to Phoebe."

Dad smiled. "I had a letter from Uncle Kelly this week. He says that they all miss you, and Phoebe promises to write soon."

That news should have cheered Suzy considerably, but she didn't want a letter full of the things she was missing.

"I have a package for you" Dad continued, and he handed Suzy a box wrapped in brown paper. "I know they aren't as grown up as you would like - especially with your new hair style! - but I though they were nice and you'd like to wear them to the party tonight."

Suzy opened the box. There were a pair of silver satin slippers with a small spool heel. "They're lovely" she said, throwing her arms around Dad. Dear Dad! He was right, the heel wasn't very high, but they would be nice with the purple dress Aunt Faith had given her from Merry's old things.

"There's something else, too" Dad said, reaching into his pocket. "This was your mother's when she was a girl. Her parents gave it to her for her sixteenth birthday. I thought about waiting until you were sixteen, but since we're both so far from you..." His voice fell as he thought about his little wife, buried across the country. Shirley took Suzy's hand in his, and closed it around something that felt small and cool. When she opened her hand, she was surprised to see a silver chain with a heart-shaped amethyst pendant hanging from it.

"It's beautiful" she breathed, clasping it about her neck.

Suzy and her Dad spent the morning visiting his old haunts, and returned to Ingleside for lunch. Merry was trying with little success to get Johanna to eat a piece of bread with jam.

"I want popcorn!" the little girl said stubbornly.

"We can have popcorn at the cinema if you finish your bread" Merry told her, sensibly. "Popcorn is not a meal."

"Shirley Temple likes popcorn" Johanna sulked. "Shirley Temple can eat whatever she likes."

"But your name isn't Shirley Temple" Shirley said to his niece.

"I'm Johanna Blythe!" the girl squealed, and then pouted. "But I wish I was Shirley Temple."

"I'm Shirley Blythe, and all Blythes, even Shirley Blythes, like bread and jam." To the surprise of all the girls, he picked up Johanna's bread and ate it in one bite. Johanna's eyes grew wide, and she looked as though she might cry. Merry was at the ready to wipe her sister's tears with a napkin, but it was not needed.

"I want more bread, please, Uncle Shirley" Johanna said sweetly. "With strawberry jam, please."

A new slice of bread was prepared, and cold ham brought out from the icebox for Suzy and Merry.

"Why don't you go to the cinema with your cousins this afternoon, Suzy?" Dad asked, after their plates were empty. "I don't think you'll have much fun with your old Dad today. Carl asked me to help him patch the bottom of his rowboat." 

Suzy knew that if she honestly said that she would rather spend her time with him, even if it meant helping Uncle Carl, Dad would make time for her. Merry spoke before Suzy had a chance to.

"Please come with us. We'll have a great time, and I'm sure Ted won't mind. Confidentially, I think it's a good plan, so Ted won't get the idea that I want to be his girl." Since it was framed as a favour, Suzy couldn't say no. She did owe Merry for the shoes, even though Merry didn't know that yet.

"Always keep them guessing?" joked a familiar voice from the doorway. Norman!

"Or never give them the chance to guess in the first place!" Merry replied, and rushed upstairs to brush her hair.

- - - - - - -

Suzy had to admit, she was glad she went to the cinema. She had already seen Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm months ago, but watching Ted try to woo Merry was more than enough entertainment for the afternoon. Each time Ted tried to reach for Merry's hand, Merry would put her hand in the paper bag of popcorn. When he was so bold as to try to put his arm around her, Merry shrugged her shoulders and made a show of looking for something in her handbag. Ted was not discouraged. After the movie, the four crossed the street to the soda fountain. Suzy and Johanna shared a malted milkshake, and Merry and Ted drank cola from long necked bottles.

"There's going to be a summer dance for the students at Lowbridge High next month" Ted said.

Merry nodded. "I'm on the organizing committee. I'm sure Juliet told you that."

"I'll bet your dance card is full already" said Ted.

Merry laughed. "Dance cards are old hat. We're not having them, even though it took a while to convince Principal Crawford."

"You'll still want an escort, though" Ted raised an eyebrow in an attempt to be suave. 

"I'm serving punch with some of the girls, and Bruce promised me and Walt a ride, since he is a chaperone. We're driving in with the Douglases" Merry said, blushing a little and strengthening her resolve. She would not let Ted talk her into going to the dance with him.

"You won't be serving punch all night, and I could pick you up again. The Glen isn't that far from New Moon, and it frees up a seat in Bruce's car for Gilly. Anyone with eyes knows that he likes Sadie." Ted quite enjoyed jumping the fences Merry put up.

"But then Arthur would be gooseberry, and that isn't fair."

Suzy had been idly listening to their banter, but her ears prickled at the mention of Bruce. She knew that Dad had said no dances until she was at least fifteen, but she also knew that Dad would change his mind if she assured him that she would arrive and leave with Bruce or Walt. She still wouldn't speak with Gilly, but that wouldn't matter with Sadie there, too. "I like the Douglases, I'll go with them so that Arthur doesn't feel awkward." She felt slightly guilty for handing Merry to Ted like a gladiator to a lion, but she was going to go to her first dance, and maybe have another chance to waltz with Bruce!

Merry looked pointedly at Suzy, but Suzy managed to keep a straight face. If Merry was disappointed, she wouldn't let Ted know that. "You beat me!" she laughed, and only those closest to her would have noticed a note of frustration in her words. "You can pick me up at Ingleside at seven, but I have to stay after the dance to help clean, so you won't be able to drive me home."

Ted grinned. "Then I'll have to ask Juliet about joining the cleaning brigade. You'll need someone tall to help take down the paper streamers."

- - - - - - -

Nobody in Glen St. Mary and the surrounding environs could deny that Persis Meredith knew how to host a party. It was the event of the summer, and would be written up glowingly on the social page of the Daily Enterprise. Persis had asked Carl and Jerry to lay wooden planks on the lawn to create an outdoor dance floor, and she had assembled a small band featuring Frankie on the violin, Walt with his horn, Merry and her flute, and Trudy at the piano. Olivia, Suzy, and Cecilia served hor d'oeuvres, and Uncle Ken poured drinks. He had a formidable liquor cabinet, even by pre-Prohibition standards, made up of alcohol brought in from Quebec. "You can't get a bottle of nice rum on P.E.I. any more for love nor money" commented Sam Reese, who was known to make gin in the barn on his property.

Suzy's platter of crackers and smoked salmon was quickly emptied, and she escaped to the kitchen to replenish it. "Golly," Olivia giggled. "Who knew adults were so boring? All they're doing is drinking and smoking cigarettes. Aunt Persis is going to have to air out the curtains tomorrow! I'll have to tell Freddie that she'll be glad Aunt Di made her stay with Grandmother."

Una finished arranging tarts on a plate, which she handed to Olivia. "Take these out. There are still more, and the rest can go out after the pickles."

"Why don't you go out and dance, Aunt Una?" Cecilia inquired, trying to sound innocent of any ulterior motives.

"Old habit" Una replied, looking wistful. "I grew up a minister's daughter, and then after the war, I didn't have it in my heart to dance, even though it seemed the whole world was shimmying through the jazz age...and of course, there isn't much dancing in a Peruvian mission!" She laughed, but it sounded forced. Suzy reflected that although Una Meredith had led a full life, it was in many ways empty.

"Don't stay in the kitchen all night, even if you don't dance" Cecilia insisted. "I can prepare the food for serving, if that concerns you."

"At least step out to the verandah to listen to the band" Olivia said. "They sound fantastic. If you go outside, Trudy will see you and play that Gershwin song you like."

Una laughed again, this time genuinely. Her blue eyes seemed brighter and more colourful when she smiled. "All right, all right. I'll listen to the band!" She untied her apron and carefully folded it over the back of a chair. "There is a cheese in the icebox that one of you can slice carefully."

"Yes, Aunt Una" the girls said as a chorus. After Una left, Olivia made one last round with the tarts, and then they sat at the kitchen table and gossiped while they ate olives and nuts.

"Trudy started that song Aunt Una likes just as Al Milgrave's dad took my last tart" Olivia said, and spit an olive pit into her napkin. "She'll be back in here in three minutes, I bet."

But she wasn't. Suzy took a plate of pickles out as a pretense, and scanned the crowd for Una. From the front parlour window she could see Aunt Di's red hair, and Dad and Una and Mary Douglas laughing at something she had said. Suzy rushed back to the kitchen.

"I saw her with my Dad" she reported to Cecilia and Olivia. 

"Really?" gasped Cecilia. "Alone?"

Suzy sighed. "No, with Aunt Di and Mrs. Douglas."

"At least she isn't hiding in the kitchen" Cecilia said optimistically. "That's a start."

"And even without make-up, she looks better than most of the women out there" Olivia pointed out. "Did you see Ethel Crawford? I've never seen so much rouge, even on a clown!"

Aunt Una never did come back to the kitchen, and in their youthful chatter, the girls forgot to take out more plates. "Uncle Carl is going to be eating tarts forever!" Cecilia said, neatly covering the plate before storing it in the icebox.

The hour grew late, and the band retired to the kitchen. "Where are the eats?" Frankie asked. "Aunt Una said she'd make us Welsh rabbit."

Because Una hadn't been seen nor heard from since leaving the kitchen, Merry proficiently sliced up a loaf of bread and melted the cheese over it. Suzy even found it in her heart to be civil to Trudy, and the favour was returned. After the last of the rabbit was eaten, Walt looked at his watch.

"It's well after midnight" he said. "We'd best leave for Ingleside, even though it is the witching hour." He looked at Olivia and Trudy. "It's cloudy and the fog is coming down like ghost's fingers. The victrola is playing, and your mum and dad are still dancing. Is Gilly going to meet you on the Harbour Road?"

Olivia shook her head. "He's watching Owen tonight."

Walt nodded. "You can stay at Ingleside or the manse tonight. It isn't safe to walk alone." 

"We could wait for Dad" Suzy said.

"Your dad left a while ago, walking with Aunt Una" Trudy told her. "I saw her leave with one of Aunt Persis' shawls, so I expect they meant to be gone for a while." It warmed Suzy's heart to hear that Dad and Una were getting on well, but something in Trudy's voice cheapened any romance that may have been there.

"Let's go before it rains" Frankie said to quiet the girls. He couldn't understand their need to go over every bit of information!

Jackets and sweaters were brought from the closet, and the jolly group of cousins left for Ingleside. Trees and moonlight cast eerie shadows on the road, and Suzy and Cecilia linked arms tightly. Both girls shivered as they walked past the Methodist graveyard.

"Hold your breath so you don't get possessed by a wandering spirit" Frankie said idly. Seemingly out of the ether, a clammy hand snatched at Suzy's ankle, and she screamed with all the breath in her lungs! 

Twin laughter pealed through the fog. "Got you!" Freddie said, from her undignified position, slithering on the ground. Frankie clutched his stomach as he shook with amusement. He managed to stop, and put his hand on Suzy's shoulder. "No hard feelings?" Frankie asked. "It's nothing against you, you were just the nearest body, that's all. It could have been anyone. I helped Freddie cook up a caper because she was sad that Mum said she's too young to be at adult parties."

Suzy was still too shocked to say much, but she knew it would be better to apologize than to hold another grudge. With a shaky smile, she shook Frankie's hand. Half the crowd dispersed across the graveyard to the manse, and Suzy was secretly glad that she was bound for Ingleside even though Trudy was with them. She knew there was no such thing as the walking dead, but after the encounter with Freddie, she didn't relish the slim possibility of another hand grabbing her!

The first drops of rain fell as they approached Rainbow Valley. Suzy's thoughts immediately turned to her hair. Nobody had been expecting rain when the party started, so there had been no thought to bring umbrellas. 

"It's going to rain" said a whispery voice from the dark. It sounded familiar, but there was no time to positively identify it. The crowd was running for Ingleside to avoid getting drenched, but it was too late. As they hurried up the slope, a loud thunderclap brought a rushing sheet of rain.

"My hair!" Suzy wailed as they neared the end of the path to Ingleside.

Eager to get in the last word, Trudy stated, "That's why I'm glad to have a permanent" and fled inside before anyone could say anything else on the matter.


	14. The Glen Pond

Even into later years, and after it had been denied, Suzy would always suspect that Shirley and Una had been in Rainbow Valley after the party. Neither Dad nor Una liked parties, and would have been glad to escape to the shady relief of the trees. Besides that, Dad had arrived at Ingleside much later than the young fry had, with a soaking wet jacket. He had to borrow one from Uncle Jem to wear to church, and after the service, Suzy overheard Una and Mrs. Douglas discussing techniques to refresh water stained silk shawls.

What couldn't be denied was the renewed friendship between the two quietest members of the old Blythe-Meredith crowd. Shirley invited Una for lunch at Ingleside after church, and Una loaned him a book and promised to knit him a pair of socks before waving him off as he left on the long trek back to Halifax. 

"Socks!" Cecilia exclaimed to Suzy as they sat under the Tree Lovers on Monday morning, with their protective canopy of intertwined branches shielding the girls from the misty rain. "Who ever heard of a romance beginning with socks?"

"There was a handkerchief in Othello" said sensitive Walt from a mossy rock. He was the only one of the boys privy to the hopes his cousins had for Una. He tapped his pen against his lips before scribbling notes in his journal. "Sometimes the most mundane things are the most extraordinary."

Both girls had to admit that Walt was right, as he had read more great romances than they had.

The rain showed no sign of stopping, and started to fall a little harder. Cecilia looked at the darkening sky. "I should go back to the manse before it really starts to come down."

Walt stood up and closed his book. "Come back to Ingleside with me and Suzy for the afternoon. Merry said she'd show us how to play Bridge if it rained today, and we need a fourth."

There was something different at Ingleside. The aunts weren't in the kitchen, but the sweet smell of molasses cake could be inhaled from the verandah. At the oven was a formidable figure, a tall woman with broad hands and a bottle green apron.

"Kids, this is Miz Cass Thomas" Norman boomed. "I couldn't bear to see your Grandmother, wonderful lady that she is, continue to care for such a large house and large family, so I hired help. I aim to make this place comfortable for me while I stay here, and one of the greatest comforts that can be had is a good gab with the Mrs. Doctor. But I can't have that if she continues to care for the damned kitchen!" 

Walt already knew the story of Cass Thomas and told it to Suzy after they had left the kitchen. Cass had been born at the harbour, and was one of the Six-Toed Jimmy Thomases. ("Not that I think he really had six toes" Walt had said.) After the war, she had married a Glen boy, Dan Reese. The Reeses had felt themselves above the Thomases, and didn't approve of the match. During the '20s, Dan sold his small farm and used the money to invest in various stocks and bonds. They had moderate success, but the money was all lost during the stock market crash. That was when Dan left. ("He packed a carpet bag, and left on the early morning train. Mrs. Douglas saw him leave with the mail.") The Reeses, not known for their tact, began to believe that Cass had driven Dan away, and openly mocked her in church. A gang of Reese women tried to take her son, Thomas, away from her. After about a year, Cass decided that Dan was not coming back, and changed her last name back to Thomas, to break ties with the Reese clan. ("Of course Thomas is still Thomas Reese, but he doesn't see much of the Glen Reeses. Miss Thomas always sent him to the schools in Lowbridge. He's a good sort, Gil and I used to pal around with him.")

The weather remained rainy for another few days, and Suzy spent her time skulking around the kitchen to avoid Merry. She finished knitting on her charity box sweater, and Cass showed her a new way to graft the shoulder seams together. Suzy and Cass became fast friends, reading to each other from The Daily Enterprise, and singing as they prepared the evening meal. Suzy's knowledge of cooking technique was scant, but with Cass' guidance, she was able to dress a chicken and beam with pride as Grandfather carved it at the head of the table.

When the sunshine returned, Cass shooed Suzy out of the kitchen. "It's not healthy for growing youth to stay indoors all of the time" she admonished when Suzy protested. "But if you come back at four o'clock, I'll show you how to make a Yorkshire pudding, lighter and fluffier than you've ever seen."

Suzy rushed through Rainbow Valley and up to the manse. She whistled three times and Cecilia waved from the kitchen window and came outside. "Uncle Carl has his rowboat tied up at the pond, and he said we could take it for a row!"

The girls set off from the edge of the pond, and rowed to the centre, where they read magazines to each other and ate sandwiches and apples that Aunt Nan had packed for them. A particularly lurid piece of romantic fiction had both girls in stitches, and as Suzy laughed, she knocked one of the oars. Horrified, she saw it slip quickly from the loose rowlock. Before she could reach for it, the oar had already sunk beyond her grasp. The girls looked at each other, concern wrinkling their brows.

"We could try rowing with one oar" Cecilia said hopefully. Unfortunately, the boat only travelled in a small circle.

Suzy tried to use the oar to paddle as if the boat were a canoe. This technique was only slightly more successful than Cecilia's original idea, causing the boat to turn in slightly larger circles. The weight of the oar was awkward, and Suzy gave up. "I think it is hopeless. Unless we want to swim, all we can do is wait to be saved." The idea was dramatic and slightly thrilling, but the reality was terribly boring. They had finished all but one magazine, and the apples had already been bitten down to cores. Besides, both girls remembered what had happened the last time they took a swim.

"I think I see someone!" Cecilia cried. "Help! Help!"

Suzy turned to look at the pond's edge. Gilly and a tall brown-haired boy were waving, and Cecilia waved back. No, not Gilly! Suzy couldn't bear the idea of being in his debt.

"I would rather die and have my bones sink to the bottom of the pond than let Gilbert Ford help me" she muttered darkly.

Cecilia snorted. "Oh, come off it, Suzy. I'm not going to wait until dinner when Frankie goes from the manse to Ingleside. You can stay on the rowboat all night if you like, but I'm going to trust Gilly and Tom."

Gilly and Tom rowed up in a borrowed boat, and Gilly tossed a rope to Cecilia. "Tie it to the front, and we'll pull you back."

Suzy scowled, and Cecilia flashed her a very pointed look. "Thanks for helping us out" Cecilia said. "Can you believe we lost one of the oars? I think the row lock must have been loose. Suzy, have you met Tom? Suzy, this is Tom Reese. Tom, this is my cousin, Suzy Blythe."

Tom reached from the other boat to shake her hand. "Very nice to meet you" he said, with a smile that matched the warmth in his kind hazel eyes. Suzy found that she liked Tom's strong handshake.

After the rowboat was brought ashore, Gilly asked the girls, "Do you want to go crabbing with us near the harbour? Before you damsels in distress needed rescuing, we were headed to the Douglases to get Arthur and Sadie and the crab trap."

Cecilia smiled widely. "I haven't seen Sadie since Dominion Day. Is Nell still confined to the house? I heard she did her week for swimming at the shore, and then the next day was caught playing poker in the churchyard with Peter Milgrave and the Phillips twins. Aunt Di said that she saw Mrs. Douglas dragging Nell down the street by the ear."

Gilly chuckled. "No, Mrs. Douglas decided that house arrest was a poor punishment, and has her sorting letters at the post office."

"That means the mail will be tampered with, no doubt" Tom groaned, but there was a good-natured jocular note to his complaint. "Hey, Suzy, are you going to come, too?"

Suzy was careful to look only at Tom when she said yes, because she would not give Gilly any satisfaction. "Let me take the magazines back to the manse and get a hat. Cecilia, will your mum let me borrow her straw gardening hat? We can meet you at the Douglases in half-an-hour."

The girls set off to the manse, and Gilly and Tom set the boats to rights before setting off to meet Sadie and Arthur.

"Your cousin seems like a sweetheart" Tom confided with an odd burst of emotion that he and Gilly weren't used to expressing around each other. Gilly was taken aback.

"Cecilia?" he asked. "I suppose she is. She's got a sunnier nature than either of my sisters."

"No, Suzy" said Tom, and it was his turn to be surprised when Gilly laughed.

"Suzy! You'll find soon enough that she's as stubborn as a mule and as opinionated as the Prime Minister! Hurry up, I promised Sadie that we wouldn't be too late."


	15. An Arrival for Persis

Of the many comforts in Suzy's life, one she had not known until coming to Ingleside was the quiet joy of taking tea with one's grandmother. One of Anne Blythe's habits – something she did to show each grandchild how special they were to her – was to have a pot of tea in the garden and give her guest her undivided attention. Suzy and Grandmother set up their tea late in the evening before the sunset. The scent of lilacs was heavy on the breeze, and each breath made Suzy feel as calm as the cloudless sky above them.

"Sunset is the nicest time of day in my garden" sighed Grandmother. "If one were to be strict in planning a garden, I would want all white flowers, so they would dazzle during the day and shine pink during the sunset. Of course, the most beautiful and enjoyable gardens are wild and unplanned!"

Suzy felt she could listen to Grandmother's sweet voice all evening, but she did have something she wanted to ask in confidence and was sure that Grandmother would not laugh.

"Have you ever made a match between two people?" Suzy asked a bit shyly. "How does one become a matchmaker?"

Grandmother did laugh softly, but Suzy did not feel that she was laughing at _her_. "Darling, I learned my lesson long ago. I promised Gilbert that I would make no more matches. I will tell you this: One cannot force a match, but they can guide one that was meant to be but needs an outside hand to move it." Anne knew which match Suzy spoke of, and guarded her true thoughts on the matter so as not to unnecessarily hurt the girl. She knew herself what it was to be motherless and the tender hidden hopes of family that motherless girls carried.

Suzy did not have a chance to ask another question, because their tea was interupted by Persis Ford. Both Grandmother and Suzy were shocked, neither of them had seen Persis ever look anything less than sleek and collected, but the woman who stood before them had hair that had come loose from its pins and a face that looked red from running. Anne recalled that even as a small girl Persis had been fastidious about her grooming, and had never been this disheveled.

"Persis!" Grandmother exclaimed. "Sit down! What is wrong, dearest? Suzy, please go into the kitchen and get a third tea cup."

Suzy dashed inside, worried for her aunt. Oh, she hoped that nothing had happened to Uncle Carl! When she returned to the garden, Persis was crying. Grandmother handed her a napkin, and she wiped her eyes before speaking.

"Carl's eyesight has been getting worse – even with glasses his good eye is weak – so we thought to adopt a boy. We never had our own children, and now that we are back for good from Japan, I thought it would be perfect. Carl is going to be teaching Biology at the Lowbridge school next year, and we thought a boy could do chores and help with the house and yard, and Carl and I could raise him to be strong and smart. We – we could be a family. Last week, Carl and I went to the orphanage in Charlottetown and we met a boy, fourteen years old, named Henry. He was to come on the train today, and..." Persis started to cry again.

"Did he not arrive?" Grandmother asked gently. "I've heard of orphanages making such mistakes. We can call them in the morning and have this sorted."

"No, no" Persis sobbed. "He did arrive, but they sent a girl with him! The mistress of the orphanage didn't tell us that he had a twin sister and they wouldn't be separated. Henry didn't say a word, because he was afraid that we wouldn't take him, like every family before. I don't know if we can send them back...I wasn't expecting two!"

The other day Freddie had told Suzy a joke about a postmaster's wife who was expecting a baby, and felt that the delivery of babies was like the delivery of a package from the Sears catalogue. The woman had birthed twins, and Persis' lament had been the punchline, but instead of being funny, it was grim.

"There is nothing more terrifying to an orphan than the idea that they can be sent away" Grandmother said with a steel in her voice that Suzy had never heard before. "Suzy, I am sorry to cut tea short, but I would like to speak with Persis in confidence. Will you have tea with me tomorrow night?"

Disappointed at being sent away just as the conversation had become thrilling, Suzy walked down to Rainbow Valley hoping to cajole Walt into reading to her (Suzy had never heard a reading voice so rich and engrossing) or to find Cecilia. She was surprised to find their gathering place empty and quiet. Cecilia and Aunt Nan had gone to a mission quilt circle in Lowbridge, Walt was staying in Four Winds for the night, and Frankie was holed up in Reverend Meredith's study reading _War and Peace_. The only sound was the tinkling of the bells hung in the Tree Lovers branches and a soft cry that grew into shuddering sobs. It hurt Suzy to hear the sad sound, so she followed it to a rock partially obscured by a leafy cluster of ferns.

"Are you all right?" Suzy asked, and regretted her choice in words. Of course the girl sitting on the rock was upset and something had to be terribly wrong to cause that many tears.

"Have you ever been totally, utterly unwanted?" the girl wailed. "Of course not. You look like you have a family, and a mother and a father, and and and..." Her words dissolved into gulps of air.

"I haven't a mother, and my father is away working in Halifax" Suzy said, sitting on a rock facing the girl. "I am not utterly alone, but I do know what it is to be lonely, even a bit. Are you the girl who came to stay with the Merediths?"

She nodded, and her tears stopped so she could introduce herself. "My name is Ella MacCrae. I was hoping I could be Ella Meredith, Mr. Meredith seemed so jolly when he met us at the train station. He told us we could call him Uncle Carl if Dad didn't suit, but I think Mrs. Meredith wants to send me back...she was expecting only Henry. There was a room for him and new books and clothes and everything! I can't bear if it happens again, we've been denied so many times...people only seem to want boys!" With that, she buried her face in her hands and whimpered.

"I don't think Aunt Persis will do any such thing" Suzy said, feeling a sudden rush of confidence. "I think perhaps she was overwhelmed. She likes things to be in order, you can tell by looking at her. When you arrived, she had no room or clothes for you and maybe felt she had failed somehow." Suzy surveyed Ella, looking at her flimsy grey dress and shoes that had once been sturdy but were now worn down. She had pretty hair, not bright carrot red like Freddie and Frankie's, but the colour of a new copper penny. "Come to Ingleside with me, and we'll have some cookies and milk in the kitchen. Our cook, Cass, makes the best macaroons. We can find you a dress, too." She thought of two old dresses of Merry's that hung in her wardrobe, one yellow and the other green. They weren't flattering colours on Suzy, but would look very smart on Ella.

The pair arose from their rocks, each feeling lighter and more sure of their place in Glen St. Mary. "If the Merediths are your aunt and uncle, is your name Meredith too?" asked Ella shyly. "Or is your name the same as Mrs. Meredith's before she was married?"

"I'm Suzy Blythe" she said. "Uncle Carl and Aunt Persis are dear friends of my father, and Aunt Persis' brother is married to my Aunt Rilla, and two of Uncle Carl's siblings are married to an uncle and aunt of mine." Just trying to graph all of the Blythe and Meredith connections still made Suzy's head swim, and she had been living with them! "They aren't my aunt and uncle by blood, but I love them fiercely." It was a revelation to Suzy. By saying those words, she realized that she loved the whole clan, perhaps even Trudy and Gilly! Oh, that wouldn't do! Her face burned and she had a difficult time keeping up her end of the conversation as they walked to Ingleside.

"If I stay, can I call you my cousin?" Ella wanted to know. "I don't expect to stay, but it would be so comforting to believe that I had a cousin."

Suzy was touched, and could barely say "Yes" before hiding her smile as she took two glasses from the cupboard.

After being fortified with cookies and milk, Suzy led Ella to the wash basin so she could clean the tears from her face. The two dresses were brought out for approval, a ribbon was found to match the green dress and Ella's hair was tied low at her neck in a lovely twist that Phoebe favoured and had shown Suzy how to execute.

Suzy peeked out the window and saw that Grandmother and Aunt Persis were still in the garden, though it was nearly dark. "We should go and speak with them before it gets too late" Suzy tried to emulate Grandmother's gentle tone, with a dash of Aunt Di's kind sensibility.

"Oh! I couldn't!" Ella gasped.

"I'll be with you" Suzy said firmly. "I'll stand my ground until there is a way for you and Henry to stay." She must have looked very brave, because Ella acquiesed.

There wasn't much ground to be stood. Persis rushed over to them. "Ella!" she said. "I'm surprised to see you here!"

"Not as surprised as you were earlier" Ella said wryly, managing narrowly to stay out of smart-aleck territory. "Or as surprised as I was to find that you had only asked for Henry." Suzy was proud of Ella's bravery in the face of going back to the orphanage.

Persis sighed. "We had only asked for Henry, and I admit that I fumbled and behaved poorly today. I was _shocked_, to be honest. We hadn't prepared for a girl, and I felt terrible that your brother had nice things waiting for him, and you hadn't. I wasn't prepared. Some call me a perfectionist, and I suppose it may be true. If you can forgive the awful first impression I must have given you, I do want for you to stay."

Ella's eyes grew luminous. "Truly?"

Persis smiled widely, and opened her arms to Ella. "Truly. Give me a chance, and I know we could be friends." They embraced, and Persis made plans to include Ella in their home. "Tonight you will sleep in one of the spare rooms, and we can decorate it as you please to make it yours." They left the garden, chattering about wallpaper and linens.

"I'd like to know how you did it" Grandmother said, satisfied with the outcome. "Of course Persis would never have sent her back, but where did you find Ella and how did you get her to come here?"

"You can guide a match that was meant to be with an outside hand if it needs one to move it" Suzy winked, and put her arm around Grandmother's shoulder. "It's becoming dewy out. Let's go inside and take a cup o' in the kitchen, as Norman would say."


End file.
